Trump and Putin open historic summit

Helsinki:The US and Russian leaders opened an historic summit in Helsinki on Monday, with Donald Trump promising an "extraordinary relationship" and Vladimir Putin saying it was high time to thrash out disputes around the world.

Looking sombre, they exchanged opening remarks in front of the press at the start of their summit in Helsinki. While Trump acclaimed the meeting's potential, Putin said: "The time has come to talk in a substantive way about our relations and problem areas of the world."

Trump declared on Monday that the summit had begun well, after they met one-on-one for two hours."Very good start," Trump said in response to reporters as the leaders were joined by senior officials for further discussions.