US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday addressed a joint press conference in Helsinki in Finland. Among the various issues taken up by the two powerful leaders were radical Islamic terrorism and mutual cooperation.
Here are the highlights:
# These rumours of Russia collecting comprising information on my family is nothing but witchhunt, says Donald Trump.
# I heard the rumours about we collecting compromising information about Trump and family when he was in Moscow, but fact is that I did not even know at that time that he was in Moscow, says Vladimir Putin.
# Both Russia and US are democratic countries, and a decision on issues like meddling in elections can be taken only by a court of law, says Vladimir Putin.
# Vladimir Putin gifts a football to Donald Trump, says "the ball is now in your court".
# Our militaries do get along very well, and they do coordinate in Syria and other places, says Donald Trump.
# We have to be guided by facts and not rumours. We have an existing treaty between US and Russia, dating back to 1999. It works quite efficiently. The attorney can use the treaty to seek action against those who are privy to any crime, says Vladimir Putin.
# We have interests that are common, on several issues we differ, but we are trying to bridge the gap. But we should be guided by facts, can you name a single fact that points to the collusion? Certain part of US feels that we meddled, but there nothing that can substantiate the allegations, says Vladimir Putin.
# The allegations of Russian meddling was one of the reasons why Democrats lost the elections. We did a good job to win the election. There was no collusion. I did not even know the Russian President. There was no one to collude with, says Donald Trump.
# We have 90% of nuclear power between the two countries, it is ridiculous, says Donald Trump.
# The probe into Russian meddling in US presidential elections is unfortunate. Everyone knows there was no collusion, says Donald Trump.
# We can work together for regulation of international markets, says Vladimir Putin.
# I assure Mr President that Russia is willing to allow the passage from Ukraine to US for trade, says Vladimir Putin.
# I had called Putin a competitor and that is a compliment. A good competitor is always good, says Donald Trump.
# We discussed the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism. We have practically eradicated ISIS, says Donald Trump.
# Our meeting is the beginning of a longer process, says Donald Trump.
# We have agreed to continue our conversation, there has been constructive dialogue between US and Russia, says Donal Trump.
