*Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2018 *

**Remarks at a Working Breakfast With President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and an Exchange With Reporters in Helsinki, Finland **

*July 16, 2018 *

*President Niinistö.* Mr. President, ladies, gentlemen, it's great to have you here.

*President Trump.* Thank you.

*President Niinistö. *You are most welcome. We have done our utmost so that your visit and your negotiations here would be successful. And, like we see, even the sun is with us——

*President Trump*. Beautiful.

*President Niinistö*. ——although it begins to be far too warm, even here in the North. [*Laughter*].

But, once again, warm welcome. And we wish all the success in your meetings and negotiations with President Putin.

*President Trump.* Thank you very much. And we very much appreciate Finland. We very highly respect your country. Our relationship has been a very good one, and our personal relationship has been very good.

And I enjoyed being with you a couple of days ago. NATO has, I think, never been stronger. And it was really—it was a little bit tough at the beginning, and it turned out to be love. It really was a great meeting that we had and brought everybody together, and, I think, very worthwhile.

But I appreciated your support and your help. And I will say, again, you've treated us beautifully. Thank you very much. Thank you.

*President Niinistö.* Thank you, sir.

*President Trump's Upcoming Meeting With President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia *

*Q. *Mr. President, what's your message to President Putin today?

*President Trump.* I'm going to be seeing him in a little while [*Laughter*].

*Q. *But what are you going to say to him?

*President Trump.* We'll do just fine. Thank you. We'll do good.

*Finland-U.S. Relations/North Atlantic Treaty Organization *

*Q. *Mr. President, I'm from Finnish press. What was the last choice to—[*inaudible*]—Finland as a meeting?

*President Trump.* Well, we think Finland's a great country. We had a fantastic meeting a few days ago; some of you were there. It was a very successful meeting. I think NATO has never been more together. People are now agreeing to pay, and we were having a lot of problem with a lot of people not paying, as the President will tell you. And they're paying, and they're paying more rapidly. And I think NATO has probably never been stronger than it is today. So we had a fantastic meeting, and now we're capping it with being in Finland. And the hospitality has been fantastic.

*President Niinistö*. Thank you.

*President Trump*. Thank you. Thank you very much everybody.

NOTE: The President spoke at 9:54 a.m. at Mäntyniemi, the official residence of President Niinistö.

*Categories:* Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters :: Helsinki, Finland; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Finland, President Niinistö*.*

*Locations: *Helsinki, Finland.* *

*Names:* Niinistö, Sauli; Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich*.*

*Subjects:* Finland : President; Finland : President Trump's visit; Finland : Relations with U.S.; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Russia : President.

*DCPD Number:* DCPD201800486.