Presidents cross paths in Helsinki: A look back

When rumours of a meeting between the US president and his Russian counterpart started circulating, Helsinki was the number one bet to become the host city.

The Finnish capital has a lot of experience welcoming leaders of the West and the East to its meeting venues and presidential residences. The first was the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), where US President Gerald Ford, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and the heads of state of both East and West Germany gathered under same roof in Finlandia Hall. The meeting resulted in the Helsinki Accords and stronger cooperation between Eastern and Western countries.

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