
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a room full of U.S. and Russian reporters that he wanted Donald Trump to win the presidency in 2016 – and Trump said he believed Putin's denials of interfering in the race – in just two of the many revelations in a joint press conference that only fueled the spectacle of the Russia story.

'I have president Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be,' Trump said, speaking to reporters about Russian election meddling as he stood side-by-side with the man U.S. intelligence says ordered it.

'So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said after meeting with Putin in Helsinki in a controversial summit.

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President Vladimir Putin said he wanted Donald Trump to win the presidential election

Trump hailed a new thaw in U.S.-Russia relations has already begun following a two-hour private meeting between the two men – and then fired repeatedly at the Mueller probe and Democratic rivals in a whirling display that immediately overshadowed any substantive talks the leaders held.

In a bizarre press conference, Putin denied having compromising information on Trump – even as he touted his own spy skills. And Trump denied the infamous dirty dossier by saying if the dirt were real it would have come out already.

'And now to the compromising material …' Putin, a former KGB colonel responded when asked if the Russians hold compromising leverage over Trump.

'I do know how dossiers are made up,' Putin joked, referring to his past as he introduced the subject of Russian intelligence files.

But Trump was having none of it – at a press conference where he demanded someone find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails, pointed to a server associated with a House Democratic staffer, and accepted a soccer ball from Putin after congratulating the Russian team's performance at the World Cup.

'And I have to say if they had it, it would have been out long ago,' Trump interjected, referencing unverified claims in the Steele dossier about his conduct in a Moscow hotel room during the Miss Universe Pageant before he was president.

GAME BALL: Putin gave Trump a soccer ball following the completion of the World Cup in Russia

TEAM SPORT: President Donald Trump throws to his wife (unseen) a ball of the 2018 football World Cup that he received from Russia's President as a present during a joint press conference after a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018

First Lady Melania Trump holds a soccer ball during a press conference after the meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018

During his answer on election interference, Putin appeared to question whether Truth can even be established on such a matter. 'Who is to be believed and who is not to be believed? You can trust no one.'

Trump declared the U.S.-Russia relationship on the mend – coming off a NATO trip where he attacked traditional allies Germany and the European Union.

'Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However that changed as of about four hours ago,' the president told a packed room of reporters in Helsinki at his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump congratulated Putin on the World Cup held in Russia

Russia's Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump at the start of their summit in Helsinki that it was time to talk about relations between Moscow and Washington

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart: 'The time has to come to talk in a substantive way'

The men met one-on-one, with no notetaker or staff, before a larger meeting with staff.

Trump raised the hot issue of Russian interference in the presidential election, both presidents confirmed, as Trump had telegraphed in advance.

Putin, addressing reporters first, referred to it as 'so-called interference.'

'I had to reiterate things I said several times,' Putin said, summarizing the conversation that jumped high up on the agenda after the Justice Department indicted 12 Russian spies for hacking Democrats in a conspiracy that according to the feds was carried out to dump unflattering material on the Internet and help Trump.

'The Russian state has never interfered and is not going to interfere into internal am affairs including election process,' Putin said, denying it.

President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018

Monday's meeting is being closely watched on both sides of the Atlantic, coming days after the U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for their role in hacking Democratic entities during the 2016 presidential campaign

The two will talk about 'everything from trade to military to missiles to China. We'll be talking a little bit about China. Our mutual friend president Xi,' Trump said

'We have both made some mistakes,' Trump said later on election interference.

Then Trump rained fire on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, which has led to guilty pleas by several associates but that Trump regularly brands a 'witch hunt.'

'The probe is a disaster for our country,' The president said.

'There was no collusion at all,' Trump said, returning to his denial. He said he 'beat Hillary Clinton easily.

'Zero collusion - and it has had a negative impact on the relationship of the two largest nuclear powers in the world,' Trump said. 'It's ridiculous what's going on with the probe.'

The two will talk about 'everything from trade to military to missiles to China. We'll be talking a little bit about China. Our mutual friend president Xi,' Trump said

After more than two hours of one-on-one discussions with only translators present, Trump called the meeting 'a good start, a very good start for everybody'

US President Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (second right), attend a working lunch during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki

US President Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (second right), attend a working lunch during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki

What they said: Energy and competition President Donald Trump says he means it as a compliment when he says Russian President Vladimir Putin is a 'competitor.' in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump, asked about a Russian gas pipeline to Germany, noted that the U.S. and Russia compete in the energy market. Trump criticized the pipeline during an earlier stop on his weeklong visit to Europe. Advertisement

In his dismissal of the claims of the Dossier, Putin maintained he had no idea Trump was traveling to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant in 2014.

'Yeah, I did hear these rumors that these allegedly collected compromising material on Mr. Trump when he was visiting Moscow.,' he said, when asked if he had anything on Trump.

'Distinguished colleague, let me tell you this, when President Trump was in Moscow back then, I didn't even know that he was in Moscow. I treat President Trump with utmost respect, but back then when he was a private individual, a businessman, nobody informed me that he was in Moscow,' Putin claimed.

Then he continued: 'Let's take St. Petersburg economic forum, for instance. There were over 500 American businessmen, high ranking, high level ones. I don't even remember the last names of each an every one. Do you think that we try to collect compromising material on each and every single one of them? Well, it's difficult to imagine on a bigger scale of this. Please disregard these issues and don't think about this anymore again.'

What they said: Trump's talks with Kim Jong-Un Putin praised President Donald Trump for this efforts to resolve nuclear tensions with North Korea. The Russian President said: 'It's good that the gradual resolution of the problem of the Korean Peninsula has begun.' He continued, saying: 'In many respects, this became possible due to the fact that President Trump personally got involved in the resolution, building dialogue in the spirt of cooperation, not confrontation.' Advertisement

But according to 'Russian Roulette' by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, called Trump to apologize that Putin couldn't attend the pageant when it happened, and sent Trump a gift.

The account was seconded by music publicist Rob Goldstone, who says he was there along with his client Emin Agalorov, both of whom helped set up a 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower.

'I know because I was there!' Goldstone tweeted Monday.

Putin referenced a joint-agreement between the U.S. and Russia, and threw out an idea for Mueller, when asked if he would consider extraditing 12 Russians spies accused of hacking the election.

He said Mueller could 'send a formal and official request' and that Russia's own law enforcement would interrogate the alleged hackers, mostly intelligence officers in the G.R.U.

'Moreover, we can meet you halfway. We can make another step. We can actually permit official representatives of the United States, including the members of this very commission headed by Mr. Mueller, we can lead them into the country and they will be present for this questioning,' Putin said.

Trump called it 'an incredible offer.'

But the Putin proposed 'another condition.'

He brought up William Browder, a financier who crusaded for the Magnitsky Act, which slaps sanctions on Russians, following the death in prison of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky after uncovering an alleged ponzi scheme.

'For instance, we can bring up Mr. Browder in this particular case. Business associates of Mr. Browder have earned over one and a half billion dollars in Russia. They never paid any taxes, neither in Russian army in the United States and yet the money escaped the country, they were transferred to the United States,' Putin said.

'They sent huge amount of money - $400 million - as a contribution to the campaign of Hillary Clinton,' he claimed.

Trump said he found Putin's denial 'powerful,' as he lashed out in all directions and talked about Democratic servers he said couldn't be located.

'I really believe that this will probably go on for a while but I don't think it can go on without finding out what happened to the server. What happened to the servers of the Pakistani gentleman that worked on the DNC?' Trump fumed.

'Where are those servers? They're missing. Where are they? What happened to Hillary Clinton's emails? 33,000 emails gone, just gone. I think in Russia they wouldn't be gone so easily,' Trump continued.

'I think it's a disgrace that we can't get Hillary Clinton's thirty three thousand e-mails.'

Then he referenced Putin's denial of the hacking.

'I have great confidence in my intelligence people but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today and what he did is an incredible offer,' Trump said.

His director of national intelligence, former Sen. Dan Coats, had warned that 'the lights are blinking red' on the risk of another cyber attack. But Trump put his view, based un multiple levels of approval in the U.S. Intelligence Community, up against Putin's.

'My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be,' Trump said.

Trump's private conversation with Putin in Helsinki blew past an allotted 90 minutes and went on for more than two hours on Monday.

Their talks were running wildly behind schedule after Putin landed an hour late in Finland, and Trump refused to depart his overnight accommodations for the summit site until the rival leader was on the ground.

Close talks that were held in private pushed the summit schedule back another half-hour after the leaders talked alone for two hours and 10 minutes, according to government officials.

As their second meeting began, President Trump said talks were off to a 'very good start' in brief remarks to press.

'I think it's a good start. Very, very good start for everybody,' he said at a working lunch.

At the start of their first session Trump talked of 'great opportunities' between the two nations at a time of extreme tension between the nuclear powers and predicted they would have an 'extraordinary relationship.'

Asked about election meddling by reporters, Trump did not respond. Putin appeared to smirk.

Trump and Putin speak after meeting in Helsinki TRUMP'S OPENING REMARKS Talks covered 'a wide range of critical issues for both our countries. We had a productive dialogue that went very well'. 'I want to congratulate Russian President Putin for hosting one of the best ever World Cups. A great job.' '(I am) here today to begin a proud tradition of bold American diplomacy.' 'Diplomacy and engagement are preferable to conflict and hostility ... Not only good for the United States and Russia but good for the world.' 'If we are going to solve many of the problems facing our world, we will have to find ways to cooperate ... We have seen the consequences when diplomacy is left on the table.' 'Our relationship has never been worse than it is now, however that changed as of about four hours ago. 'Refusing to engage will not accomplish anything. I will not make decisions on foreign policy to appease the media or Democrats who want to do nothing but resist and obstruct. I would rather take political risks in pursuit of peace than risk peace in pursuit of politics. 'I will do what is best for the American people'. 'I addressed directly (the question of) Russian interference in our elections. We spent a great deal of time talking about it. He (Putin) feels strongly about the issue and has an interesting idea.' 'We discussed nuclear proliferation. After today I am sure we and they want to end that problem.' 'We also discussed the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism that Russia and the United States have suffered. 'We will maintain open communication between our security agencies to fight this global menace.' 'We also discussed at length the crisis in Syria. Co-operation between our countries has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives. '(I) made clear we will not allow Iran to benefit from our successful campaign against ISIS.' 'Our national security councils will meet to follow up all the agreements we made today. We have made the first steps towards a brighter future, grounded on cooperation and peace. 'President (Putin) I want to thank you for advancing open dialogue between Russia and the United States ... for the greater good of all. 'This was a very constructive day, the few hours we spent today. It is in the interest of both our countries to continue this conversation and we will meet again in the future.' PUTIN'S OPENING REMARKS 'Negotiations with Trump took place in an open and constructive atmosphere, I find them rather successful and useful.' 'It is obvious to everyone that international relations have lived through a difficult period ... The Cold War has ended a long time ago, the situation in the world has drastically changed. Russia and the United States are now facing totally different challenges.' Putin said the meeting marked the first steps to restore 'an acceptable level of trust and go back to previous level of interaction on all mutual interest issues'. 'As far as Syria is concerned the task of establishing peace and reconciliation in this country could be the first showcase example of successful joint work.' 'The United States could convince the Ukrainian leadership to fulfil the Minsk (peace) accords.' '(Trump) touched upon the theme of Russia's so-called meddling (in the 2016 U.S. election). I had to repeat what I've said before, that the Russian state has never interfered and has no intention to interfere.' 'We have offered to consider building the philosophy of bilateral relations for the long term.' 'We have good talks, we started to understand each other better.' 'The talks have reflected our mutual desire to improve the situation ... to restore trust,â Putin said, referring to global security, economic issues and ecological risks. 'We find it important to have dialogue on strategic stability.' 'We have everything necessary for efficient cooperation on Syria.' 'We as the largest gas state - and the United States is also such a country - could have worked on regulating the global market. We are not interested in prices dropping to low levels as producers could get hurt. We are also not interested in excessively high prices.' 'Concerning Nord Stream 2 I have reassured Trump that Russia is ready to preserve (gas) transit via Ukraine. We are ready to extend the contract that expires in 2019 if the dispute in Stockholm (court) is solved.' 'No one should trust anyone. He (Trump) is defending U.S. interests, I am defending interests of the Russian Federation. We have matching interests, we are looking for common points.' 'Concerning 12 alleged security officers, I know nothing about it, I need to figure out. Trump has put this question to me, we have discussed this.' Advertisement

President Donald Trump's private conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki blew past an allotted 90 minutes and went on for more than two hours on Monday

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R), U.S. President Donald Trump (C) and First lady Melania Trump attend a meeting in Helsinki, Finland

After two hours of talks, the two leaders finally moved into an expanded bilateral

'It's great to be with you,' Trump told Putin at the start of a planned 90-minute meeting. 'I look forward to our personal discussion,' he told the Russian president.

The friendly greeting overlooked a Justice Department announcement on Friday the indictments of a dozen Russian spies accused of hacking the presidential election and warnings from the intelligence community that Moscow was likely to meddle in U.S. politics in 2018 again.

'Frankly we have not been getting along very well for the latest couple of years,' Trump said, in his first remarks to Putin, but he made no direct reference to the charged issue.

He opened the summit with conciliatory gestures – allowing Putin to speak first, and praising the recently concluded World Cup held in Russia as well as the performance of the Russian national team.

'I think the world wants to see us get along we are the two great nuclear powers. We have 90 per cent of the nuclear and that's not a good thing,' Trump said.

'It's a bad thing and 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.' Then he added: 'We all have a lot of questions and hopefully we'll come up with answers.'

'Most importantly we have a lot of good things to talk about,' Trump said after opening his remarks with praise for Russia's hosting of the World Cup.

'I want to congratulate you on a really great World Cup, one of the best ever,' Trump exlcaimed.

'I watched quite a bit and in the United States we call it soccer,' Trump informed him. 'And also for your team itself doing so well,' Trump gushed. 'And I watched quite a bit of it and I watched the entire final.

Trump said: 'They were really spectacular games but it was beautifully done.'

'Congratulations on that,' Trump said. 'And with that, the world awaits, and I look forward to our personal discussion.'

Trump invited Putin to speak first. The Russian leaned onto one arm of his armchair in an ornate room while the U.S. president hunched forward in his seat.

He was much more terse, and much less revealing, than his American counterpart.

'The time has come to talk thoroughly about bilateral relations as well as various hotspots in the world,' Putin said. He said the summit was part of 'continued constant contacts' between them.

'It is my pleasure to meet you here on hospitable Finnish soil in Helsinki,' Putin began.

At the end of their remarks, when U.S. reporters tried to ask about election meddling, Putin smirked and said nothing. Trump ignored the questions.

Their first meeting was held in the Gothic Hall in the palace of the Finnish president. The press conference was in the Hall of Mirrors.

President Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018

Trump said getting along with Russia would be a 'good thing, not a bad thing', in opening remarks in front of media before the closed-door meeting

The summit in Helsinki consists of a one-on-one meeting and a larger working lunch, and will conclude with a joint news conference

President Donald Trump set the tone for his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday by tweeting about 'Crooked Hillary' and the 'Rigged Witch Hunt' – and claiming that Washington is to blame for frosty relations between the two countries.

He also claimed that President Obama thought Russian meddling was 'no big deal' in a message blasting his predecessor.

'Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!' Trump wrote.

In faulting the U.S. for the bitter relationship that has ebbed and flowed for decades and turned especially toxic after election meddling charges in 2016, Trump curried favor with Moscow in advance of Putin's arrival.

Russia's ministry of foreign affairs said 'we agree' in a tweet responding to the shocking accusation.

Trump was due to meet one-on-one hours later with Putin in a meeting scheduled to last for 90-minutes - but the Russian president arrived late to Helsinki after hosting the World Cup Championship in Moscow the evening before.

Putin's tardy landing pushed the summit schedule back by an hour and sent a signal to the U.S. government that Moscow is running the show in Helsinki.

Facing criticism that he won't bring sufficient pressure on on Putin – who the U.S. accuses of overseeing a range of 'malign' activities – the president went after his domestic political opponents and U.S. investigators on Twitter.

He added, after raising doubts about the cohesion of the U.S. military alliance set up to counter the old Soviet Union: 'NATO has never been more together.'

But after stirring up yet another confrontation on the eve of a major diplomatic encounter, Trump reassured the world at the top of a breakfast with the Finnish president: 'We'll do just fine.'

LATE: Russian President Vladimir Putin kept President Trump waiting for an HOUR an on Monday

President Donald Trump began the day of his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin by tweeting about 'Crooked Hillary' Clinton and the 'Rigged Witch Hunt' – and claiming President Obama thought Russian meddling was 'no big deal'

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto talk on the balcony of Niinisto's official residence in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018 prior to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital. (Martti Kainulainen/Lehtikuva via AP)

President Donald Trump (2ndR) and First Lady Melania Trump (2ndL) pose with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and his wife Jenni Haukio (L) at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki on Monday

An advert by Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat stating 'Mr. President, welcome to the land of free press' is seen on the wall of Helsinki Music Centre in Helsinki. Trump on Sunday called the media 'enemies of the American people' again

In blaming the U.S. for the bitter relationship that has ebbed and flowed for decades and turned especially toxic after the intelligence community said it had evidence that the Kremlin directed 2016 election meddling, Trump curried favor with Moscow in advance of Putin's arrival

Putin is looking to end Russian isolation following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and the summit provided the opportunity to open a new chapter with the U.S., which pushed for the imposition of sanctions in response.

U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman said Sunday in no uncertain terms that sanctions for the bad behavior would stay on. However, Trump's tweets blaming Obama for the incursion and election interference suggest he could be persuaded to take a different tact.

'President Obama thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election, so when he was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn't happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it,' Trump wrote from Helsinki, where the summit is taking place Monday.

'When I won it became a big deal and the Rigged Witch Hunt headed by Strzok!' he said, referencing the FBI lawyer who was grilled in Congress last week.

Russia said ahead of the summit that it as 'ready' to discuss the topic of election meddling and 'mutual obligations' that the countries have not interfere in each other's affairs, RIA news agency reported.

'We are ready to discuss, ready to undertake mutual obligations of non-intervention into internal matters,' the news agency quoted a Russian source as saying, according to a translation provided by Reuters.

The statement seemed to refer to Trump's charges that Germany should not have entered into a pipeline deal with a state-owned energy company in Russia.

Trump called out U.S. 'foolishness and stupidity rather than Russia's own actions as the cause of poor relations

Trump also lashed out at predecessor President Barack Obama and rival Hillary Clinton, whose staff is shown to have fallen under a Russia-directed hack attack in a new federal indictment

Trump also went after the media and declared a 'truly great' NATO summit took place

Trump did not revisit the issue in his tweets on Monday. But he did return to friction within NATO, having berated Germany and other allies for not spending enough on defense. Trump proclaimed it a 'truly great Summit' – even as it put allied nations' divisions on display.

'Received many calls from leaders of NATO countries thanking me for helping to bring them together and to get them focused on financial obligations, both present & future. We had a truly great Summit that was inaccurately covered by much of the media. NATO is now strong & rich!' Trump wrote.

The tweet came hours after a Sunday evening missive where he referred to the European Union as a 'foe.'

EU Council Chairman Donald Tusk said in a reply that was obviously meant for Trump: 'America and the EU are best friends. Whoever says we are foes is spreading fake news.'

Tusk used Trump's words against him in mentioning 'fake news' in his response. The U.S. president routinely brands coverage 'fake news' that he does not like.

'Europe and China, America and Russia, today in Beijing and in Helsinki, are jointly responsible for improving the world order, not for destroying it,' Tusk said in another tweet. 'I hope this message reaches Helsinki,' he added.

President Donald Trump, left, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto talk on the balcony of Niinisto's official residence in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018 prior to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital

Jenni Haukio, wife of Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, talks to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, on the balcony of Niinisto's official residence in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018 prior to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital

President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and Robert Frank Pence Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Finland participate in a breakfast with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018

First lady Melania Trump went into private talks with her Finnish counterpart while their husbands

Trump said repeatedly during the presidential campaign it would be better if the U.S. could 'get along' with Russia and was poised on Monday to make good on his commitment to improve relations.

First, the president and first lady Melania Trump attended a formal greeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and First Lady Jenni Haukio at a breakfast that took place before Putin's Helsinki arrival.

Trump landed in Helsinki for his high-stakes summit with Putin on Sunday after ranting that no set of concessions – no matter how large the consequences – would be good enough for media critics he branded the 'enemy of the people.'

'Unfortunately, no matter how well I do at the Summit, if I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia,' he said, 'over the years, I would return to criticism that it wasn't good enough – that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!'

Trump sent out the missive focusing about how his actions would be perceived in the press after indicating in an interview that he had low expectations for the summit and failing to articulate what goals he had in mind for the face-to-face.

If he was planning to drive a hard bargain with Putin, a former KGB colonel with a grip on power in Moscow, he didn't show it. Asked in a broadcast interview about his goal for the summit, Trump replied: 'I'll let you know after the meeting.'

The president waived to greeters as he arrived in Helsinki

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Vantaa, Finland, July 15, 2018

The first lady wore a white shirt and a long tailored jacket

Putin arrived basking in the glow of a successful World Cup tournament that France won in a match Sunday evening local time while Trump was in the air. Trump congratulated Putin on the tournament in the same tweet where he celebrated the victorious French team.

Both Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron were on hand in the pouring rain to shake hands of the winning French teammates in St. Petersburg.

Trump sent out the pre-spin amid fears from his political rivals that he would give ground to Putin, a strategic adversary to U.S. policy goals, having been criticized since the campaign for his refusal to criticize Putin.

Among critics mostly on the left, Putin is sometimes described as Trump's 'handler,' and since Friday's indictments the billionaire president has variously been described as an 'asset' or even an agent for Putin.

The president didn't do much to dissuade his rivals by piling on criticism of European allies in an interview that aired on Sunday with CBS.

'Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade,' Trump volunteered to CBS when asked about his goal for the summit. 'Now you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe,' Trump said.

Trump has said that Putin is a 'competitor' but not an 'enemy' or even a 'friend.'

'He's been very nice to me the times I've met him. I've been nice to him. He's a competitor,' Trump said of Putin at the NATO summit where he went after Germany. 'You know, somebody was saying, 'Is he an enemy?' No, he's not my enemy. 'Is he a friend?' No, I don't know him well enough,' Trump said.

He has said he will raise the issue of election meddling – but also said he won't be 'Perry Mason' and try to extract a confession from Putin.

Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, who is traveling with the president, said there were classified activities that he is not at liberty to talk about to deter interference in the elections going forward.

'I think it's very clear the president's determined that we're not going to have any outsider interfere with the integrity of our electoral process,' Bolton told ABC's 'This Week.'

On Air Force One, the president wrote in tweets that the media is nonetheless setting him up to fail, saying that 'much of our news media is indeed the enemy of the people' in a bombastic message that followed a gripe about North Korea shortly before that had ended with him calling the press 'fake news.'

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Helsinki Sunday evening

President Trump set the tone for his Helsinki summit in tweets on Sunday morning en route to Finland

Trump said all that Democrats 'know how to do is resist and obstruct! This is why there is such hatred and dissension in our country – but at some point, it will heal!'

The president only had kind words for Putin, saying he was 'looking forward to meeting' with him in one tweet, and asserting that the Russian leader had put 'on a truly great World Cup Tournament' in another.

Unlike his Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, where the president at least pushed for a denuclearization deal as he claimed that the meeting itself was an accomplishment, Trump has been hesitant to set any expectations for Helsinki at all.

'I go in with low expectations,' the president told CBS News. 'I'm not going with high expectations.'

When CBS News asked him about his goals for his the meeting with Putin, Trump responded: 'I'll let you know after the meeting' and promised 'nothing bad' will come out of it.

Trump could promise to ease sanctions or cut U.S. military operations in Europe without consulting the State Department or the Pentagon. Moscow is under U.S. and international sanctions for its seizure of Crimea in 2014.

The president made a similar move in his meeting with Kim, where he announced the U.S. would cease a joint military exercise with South Korea - a major concession to Pyongyang and a surprise to the Pentagon and U.S. allies.

Trump said Thursday if he could consider ending U.S. military exercises in the Baltic states.'

'Perhaps we'll talk about that,' he said.

EU President Donald Tusk responded to Trump's claim the EU was a 'foe' on trade

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump talk during a break of a leader's meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Da Nang, Vietnam in November

President Trump, who golfed in Scotland this weekend, has foreign policy experts worried he could offer concessions to Putin

Huntsman said Sunday that he doesn't expect any changes to the United States' position on Crimea.On Sunday on NBC, Huntsman insisted the meeting is not a summit, however.

Huntsman categorized it as a 'meeting' and claimed that the 'summit' characterization is wrong, even though he had also used the term.

On an on-the-record call with reporters in advance of Trump's trip to Europe, he'd said: 'I harken back to some summits that I've done before, all the way back to Ronald Reagan where I helped to prepare Reagan's first trip to China and Barack Obama's trip to China in 2009. And what is important in all these cases is dialogue. And this can take many forms. But what is important here is that we start a discussion.

'We've had discussions on the margins of meetings -- Hamburg, G20, the APEC meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, but this really is the first opportunity for a sit-down and to begin that very important dialogue, much the way we saw President Reagan do it with Mikhail Gorbachev, or Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev,' he said.

Helsinki has been the site of other historic summits between the United States and Russia.

In 1975, 35 nations met there in an attempt to improve relations between the Communists and the West, signing The Helsinki Accords.

In March 1997, then-President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin met in Helsinki on security and economic issues.

President Trump is approaching his Putin meeting with his typical confidence that his personality and instincts will give him the edge.

Trump said that history of negotiations helped him get a read on Kim after he met the North Korean leader in Singapore. He told DailyMail.com in the Oval Office, that he'd been 'preparing' all his live and didn't need additional briefings.

The president prides himself on his ability to read people and often breaches diplomatic protocol in favor of one-on-one conversations.

In July of last year, when Trump met with Putin at the G20 gathering, the meeting between the two men that was originally scheduled for 30 minutes went well over the two-hour mark. It ran so long that first lady Melania Trump was sent in to try and end it, although she failed in her attempt.