Trump, Putin hail progress in mending strained ties

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed progress in improving strained bilateral relations.

The leaders met for about two hours behind closed doors during their summit in Helsinki, Finland after originally being planned to hold a roughly one-hour one-on-one meeting.

"Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However, that changed as of about four hours ago. I really believe that,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Putin after a working lunch with senior Russian and American officials.

Putin, whose late arrival in Finland off-set the original start time of the sit-down, said there is "no solid reason" behind the tensions.

Trump earlier Monday faulted Washington for the strained ties, calling out "U.S. foolishness and stupidity" for the deteriorated ties. The Russian Foreign Ministry was quick to retweet the message with a brief comment of its own.

"We agree," the ministry said.