A police officer is speaking on the phone in front of the hotel Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa on Sunday, July 15, 2018. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
On Sunday noon, one can hear the church bells tolling across the quiet Meilahti region in Helsinki. A car is being towed away by the police. About two kilometers away in the district of Munkkiniemi, at the hotel Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa, dozens of police officers with sunglasses are standing in their overalls under the beaming sun.
This is where the US President Donald Trump is expected to stay with his wife Melanie during their visit to Helsinki for the summit with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
No drones allowed. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
“They don’t have signs like these in Kajaani,” says a policeman and points at the “No Drone Zone” sign next to the street leading to the hotel. He is one of the about 2,000 police officers who have been called on duty for the summit. This officer has traveled a distance of about 600 kilometers from the north but there are police officers guarding the streets even from Lapland.
Finland Today is allowed to take a closer look inside the isolation.
A massive army truck has sealed off the street. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
A massive army truck is blocking an intersecting street.
Closer to the hotel another intersection is blocked by barriers, and a tent has been set up with a metal detector. It’s been guared by the police and the army.
The hotel and the surrounding park have been sealed off with tape.
The surrounding park has been isolated, too. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
President Trump is expected to arrive in Finland in the evening and go straight to the hotel to prepare for a meeting with President Sauli Niinistö in the morning and President Putin in the afternoon.
