HELSINKI, July 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin started their first bilateral meeting here on Monday, with Trump saying they are going to discuss a range of issues.

Putin was in Moscow for Sunday night's FIFA World Cup final, where he joined leaders from France and Croatia in watching the game and later took part in the awards ceremony.

Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini, the host of the meeting, said that both the U.S. and Russian presidents have wanted to keep expectations relatively low to avoid disappointment. But the fact that they are meeting face-to-face is important, Soini was quoted by Finnish national broadcaster Yle as saying.