8:10am UPDATE:
The one-on-one meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is running overtime and has now passed the two-hour mark.
A Finnish official said the two leaders were still meeting as of 4:09 p.m., two hours after they began their meeting in the Gothic Hall of the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The White House had scheduled 90 minutes for the meeting, in which only translators are present.
It's not the first time the presidents' talks have gone long. In their first meeting last year, they ended up talking for more than two hours. Midway through, first lady Melania Trump was sent in to help wrap things up. Trump and Putin continued to talk for another hour.
ORIGINAL STORY:
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting privately, joined only by translators, in the Finnish Presidential Palace.
The two leaders entered the Gothic Hall with serious expressions, moving quickly to two ornate wooden chairs set before American and Russian flags. Trump sat upright as Putin appeared to lounge in his chair.
Trump deferred to Putin to make opening remarks, nodding along as his comments in Russian were translated. Trump predicted that the pair will have an "extraordinary relationship."
Trump initiated a brief handshake with Putin, as the assembled press jostled to capture the moment.
Putin appeared to smirk as Trump ignored shouted questions about whether he would warn the Russian leader against meddling in the 2018 midterm elections.
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