Trump and Putin finish talks with no hint vote meddling was raised

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have finished their highly sensitive talks in Helsinki after two hours, with no hint that Moscow’s election meddling was discussed.

Speaking after the meeting, the US president said: “I think it’s a good start. Very, very good start for everybody.”

Trump and Putin sat down for lunch after the talks, each flanked by six aides.

The leaders entered the gothic hall in the Finnish presidential palace for talks at 2.10pm local time (1210 BST), 50 minutes later than expected, after characteristic tardiness on the Russian president’s part. The US president reportedly countered by waiting until Putin had arrived at the palace before leaving his hotel.

The leaders stood for a moment for photographers before taking their seats with a small vase of white flowers on a table between them. Trump, leaning forward in his chair, appeared to wink at the man who, slouching in his, is widely regarded as an adversary of western democracy.

Both men then made brief remarks against a backdrop of three US and three Russian flags. Speaking through an interpreter, Putin said he and Trump had maintained regular contact but “of course, the time has come that we speak extensively about our bilateral relations and various problem points around the world. There are enough of them that we ought to pay attention to them”.

Trump congratulated Putin on Russia’s hosting of the World Cup, “one of the best ever, from what everybody tells me,” adding that he had watched the semi-finals and final and it was “beautifully done”.

Trump had said the leaders’ discussions would cover trade, the military, missiles, nuclear, China – “our mutual friend, President Xi” – but did not mention election interference.

“I think we have great opportunities together as two countries that, frankly, we have not been getting along very well for the last number of years … But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship. I hope so,” he said.

Trump repeated a sentiment he often expressed during his presidential campaign: “Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.” He added that the “world wants to see us getting along”.

The US and Russia were the “two great nuclear powers”, Trump added. “We have 90% of the nuclear and that’s not a good thing, that’s a bad thing, and I think we hopefully can do something about that because it’s not a positive force, it’s a negative force, so we’ll be talking about that among other things,” he said.

Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and red tie, the US president shook Putin’s hand and ignored shouted questions about election interference, at which the Russian leader reportedly smirked.

A tweet issued by Trump earlier in the day also set back hopes that he might press the issue. Apparently dismissing the cold war, when the superpowers stood on the brink of nuclear conflict, he wrote: “Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”

The Russian foreign ministry tweeted in response: “We agree.”

Trump repeated his claim that Barack Obama had failed to act over the Russian meddling. He wrote on Twitter that Obama “thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election”, so he did “NOTHING” about it when informed by the FBI.

Trump has adopted the phrase “Rigged Witch Hunt!” to describe the investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, into meddling in the 2016 presidential election, which last week indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking and leaking Democratic party emails.

Political opponents had urged Trump, who denies collusion, to use the summit to challenge Putin about the hacking and other malign activities. They have also been withering about his constant refusal to criticise the Russian president.

Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Great World Cup. Question for President Trump as he meets Putin: Do you know which team you play for?”

After a one-on-one meeting with only interpreters present, Trump and Putin were due to continue their discussions with an expanded group of aides and then over lunch in the hall of mirrors, once the emperor’s throne room, before taking questions at a joint press conference.

Foreign policy experts raised concerns that Trump might seek to make a grand gesture that would offer Putin serious concessions on Crimea, Syria or Ukraine.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said he hoped the summit would be “the first step” in overcoming a crisis in diplomatic relations.

“Presidents Trump and Putin respect each other and they get along well,” he told Russia’s RT television. “There is no clear agenda. It will be determined by the heads of state themselves as they go along.”