Russian President Vladimir Putin and his North American counterpart Donald Trump spoke privately today for two hours and 10 minutes, over and above the agreed protocol of the meeting in this capital.
Sources close to the organization of the talks say that an hour and 45 minutes were originally scheduled for Putin and Trump, accompanied only by their translators, just as requested by the White House.
At the conclusion of the talks, both sides met at delegation level at the Finnish Presidential Palace.
Parallel to the meeting of the presidents, the heads of diplomacy of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and of the United States, Michael Pompeo, also spoke in the referred palace, before participating in the two delegations’ meeting.
Previously, Putin had spoken out in favor of addressing specific and crucial issues for bilateral relations and for the world as he began talks with Trump.
We have continued our regular contacts at various events, but the time has come for a concrete dialogue on issues of concern to the entire world, the Russian leader said.
For his part, Trump reiterated his congratulations to Putin for holding a magnificent World Cup, one of the best in history, as they say, said the White House head.
We have a lot to talk about, from trade to military issues, including the nuclear aspect, and China, our mutual friend, Trump said.
The U.S. president stressed that the United States and Russia are two great nuclear powers with 90 percent of the world’ weapons of mass destruction.
He also recalled one of his slogans in the 2016 election campaign, when referring to friendship with Russia as a positive thing.
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