President Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin arrived at the presidential palace in Helsinki, Finland early Monday morning and posed briefly for pictures before entering their highly anticipated one-on-one sit down.
The meeting, which has been criticized as ill-advised and hastily planned by the Washington foreign policy establishment, comes just days after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian intelligence officials for hacking into Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers.
Trump has ignored calls for the meeting to be cancelled, instead maintaining an optimistic tone about the potential for improved relations with the Kremlin despite the recent revelations.
"I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship," Trump said while seated next to Putin ahead of the meeting, which will be followed by a Monday afternoon press conference. "Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing."
The sit down comes on the heels of a contentious NATO summit last week that featured a high profile spat between Trump and his British hosts that erupted after he criticized prime minister Theresea May’s strategy for departing the European Union and suggested it may imperil a nascent trade deal with the U.S.
Trump has said he would broach the subject of Russian election interference with Putin but, despite assurances from the White House that he takes the threat seriously, he has reportedly conceded in private that he was unsurprised by Russia’s actions and doesn’t believe they will stop.
Democratic leadership has placed pressure on Trump ahead of the summit to secure some acknowledgement of wrongdoing from Putin for meddling in the election.
"For President Trump to meet with President Putin without expressing the outrage of the American people and securing real progress would be terrible for the United States and the security of our election system," minority leader Chuck Schumer said during a phone call with secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the sweeping sanctions that have been imposed against some 700 Russian individuals and firms as well as the conflict in Syria and Russia’s support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Shortly before arriving at the palace, Trump appeared to entirely blame the U.S. for tense relations with Moscow.
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!" he wrote.
The Russian Foreign Ministry praised Trump’s tweet, writing in response, "We agree."
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