U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

HELSINKI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that getting along with Russia would be a “good thing, not a bad thing”, in opening remarks in front of media before his closed-door summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

“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 soccer World Cup. 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.