As it happened - Trump and Putin's landmark meeting

Summary

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have been holding their first official talks in Helsinki, Finland
The meeting came days after the US charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking
Mr Trump defended Russia over claims of interference in the 2016 presidential election
He contradicted US intelligence agencies and said there had been no reason for Russia to meddle

Live Reporting

Flora Drury, David Molloy, Ritu Prasad and Alexandra Fouché

Clinton asks: Which team does Mr Trump play for?published at 11:24 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
Perhaps Hillary Clinton was watching the Russian president at the World Cup final celebrations last night.
The question she on her mind is which jersey her former adversary has on:
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Vladimir Putin on his way to the presidential palacepublished at 11:21 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
Here he is getting off the plane:
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Trump now just hanging around...published at 11:16 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
Donald Trump was due to leave his hotel more than 30 minutes ago, but Vladimir Putin's late arrival means he is reportedly just cooling his heels while he waits for the Russian president.
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Two presidents, many protesterspublished at 11:13 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
As presidents go, they don't get much more controversial than Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Human rights campaigners have been out in force in Helsinki protesting against both over the last 24 hours:
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Human rights campaign group Amnesty has also taken out a series of adverts, which can be seen around the city:
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Putin lands in Helsinkipublished at 11:04 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
So, a little behind schedule, Vladimir Putin has landed in Helsinki.
The summit was supposed to begin at 11:00 BST (13:00 local time), according to the schedule.
Seeing as Mr Putin hasn't even left the plane yet, there is no telling when it will actually start.
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Finnish president hails 'start of an interesting day'published at 10:57 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
Image source, EPA
Image caption,
President of Finland Sauli Niinisto (far right) speaks with Donald Trump as their wives stand alongside
Mr Trump started his day by meeting the Finnish president at his official residence for a photo and a brief discussion.
President of Finland Sauli Niinistö was joined by his wife Jenni Haukio, while the US First Lady also joined them.
Mr Trump later tweeted: "It was an honor to join you" - while Mr Niinistö called it "a varied discussion at the start of an interesting day".
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Both presidents are 'running late'published at 10:47 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
The world may be holding its breath ahead of today's meeting between Trump and Putin, but it appears neither are in too much of a rush to get started.
Sky News Washington correspondent Mark Austin tweets:
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Trump: Russia relationship has 'never been worse'published at 10:39 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
On Monday morning, before heading to the Finnish president’s home, Mr Trump quick-fired a few tweets about things which had apparently been playing on his mind.
Among the subjects covered were an alleged “witch hunt” and the recent fiery testimony of FBI agent Peter Strzok:
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He also placed the blame for frosty relations between Russia and the US on those who had gone before him:
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Welcome to our summit live coveragepublished at 10:36 British Summer Time 16 July 2018
Welcome to our live page, where we will be covering the first official summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
There’s enormous media hype around this meeting, fuelled by the allegations of Russian involvement in the 2016 US election - which Mr Trump won.
Rather than softening ahead of this landmark summit, fresh controversy erupted late last week when the US charged 12 Russian intelligence agents with hacking Democratic politicians.
There’s a lot to digest, so here is some of our background material before the main event: