Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the “era of acute ideological confrontation” between the U.S. and Moscow is over, following a two-hour meeting with President Trump in which they discussed a range of issues including international terrorism, cybersecurity, and nuclear proliferation.
“It’s quite clear to everyone that our relations are going through a complicated stage, and yet those impediments, the current tension, the tense atmosphere, essentially have no solid reason behind it,” Putin told reporters during a joint press conference with Trump.
“The era of acute ideological confrontation between the two countries is a vestige of the past,” he said.
The one-on-one meeting in Helsinki kicked off the first bilateral summit between Trump and Putin since the U.S. president took office. Both leaders were joined by their top national security aides for a working lunch following the initial meeting.
Trump told reporters his discussion with Putin was a “very good start for everybody,” and later added that he was glad he agreed to meet with the Russian leader despite pressure from some political opponents last week to cancel the summit over concerns about the country’s meddling in American elections.
“I would rather take a political risk in pursuit of peace than to risk peace in pursuit of politics,” Trump said, describing their summit as “a very constructive day.”
“It is in the interest of both of our countries to continue this conversation,” he said.
Beyond agreeing to hold regular meetings, the summit did not produce a written agreement or framework for bilateral relations. Both leaders said they addressed allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, though Putin continued to deny any wrongdoing.
[Also read: Trump dismisses Russian election meddling, doesn’t see ‘any reason’ for it]
“The Russian state has never interfered and is not going to interfere in internal American affairs,” Putin said during the press conference, which occurred just three days after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian nationals for hacking email accounts belonging to Democratic operatives.
Trump said he and Putin spoke about the issue of election meddling at length during their meeting, and suggested the Russian leader might have an “interesting idea” about cooperation on cybersecurity between the two countries.
“President Putin may very well want to address it and very strongly because he feels very strongly about it,” Trump said.
Monday’s meeting wasn’t the first time Trump and Putin have held bilateral talks that lasted far longer than expected. During a sideline meeting at the G20 summit last year, Trump and Putin were interrupted by first lady Melania Trump who was concerned about her husband veering off schedule.
[Also read: Trump says ‘enemy of the people’ journalists will misreport Putin summit]
