Putin arrives in Helsinki for summit with Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Helsinki on Monday noon for the first formal bilateral summit with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) and Russia's ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov (L) disembark from an airplane upon arrival at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018 ahead of a summit in Helsinki between the US President and the Russian president. [Photo: AFP/Jonathan NACKSTRAND]

According to previous reports, the bilateral meeting between Putin and Trump will begin at 1:20 p.m. local time (1020 GMT).

Putin was in Moscow for Sunday night's FIFA World Cup final, where he joined leaders from France and Croatia in watching the game and later took part in the awards ceremony.

Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini, the host of the meeting, said that both the U.S. and Russian presidents have wanted to keep expectations relatively low to avoid disappointment. But the fact that they are meeting face-to-face is important, Soini was quoted by Finnish national broadcaster Yle as saying.

The meeting will take place at the Finnish Presidential Palace in the afternoon, followed by a working luncheon and a press conference, according to the public agenda released by Finnish authorities.

Trump and Putin will also meet with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto respectively on Monday, and the whole event will wrap with a press conference by Niinisto on Monday evening.