There was no small talk required to break the ice between these two leaders who have become unlikely friends.
Instead, it was real ice breakers - 9,000-tonne hulking ships - that sealed a deal between Donald Trump and Finland's President Alexander Stubb, cementing their growing business and personal relations.
Trump was smiling in their Oval Office meeting on Thursday, leaning in slightly, and nodding in agreement to the man who has become, to many, an unlikely spokesman for Europe.
Finland's Alexander Stubb is a leader who, despite his country's relatively small size, has the US president's ear more than most.
We've been friends for a long time, Trump remarked as they sat, facing each other, under a painting of a young George Washington.
For the next hour, the two men discussed a broad range of issues - but primarily a deal to purchase 11 icebreaker ships.
These are a difficult-to-build Finnish nautical speciality the country uses to break through to ports frozen over in harsh Scandinavian winters, and which Trump has long had his eyes on.
Four of those will be built in the US using Finnish know-how, which Stubb promised means investments, means jobs and means hope - which a grateful Trump said was necessary given Finland's proximity to Russia and what he termed the ridiculous war in Ukraine.
More than any aspect of the bilateral relationship between the US and Finland, the Ukraine war has thrust the relationship between Stubb and Trump into international headlines.
Among many observers of the war, Stubb is seen as one of the Nato leaders perhaps best able to sway Trump towards Europe's position on Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin.
I see Finland's outsized influence in Washington as a direct result of the close personal relationship between Stubb and Trump, said Jason Moyer, an expert in transatlantic relationships at the Washington-based Atlantic Council.
Stubb's role as what some media outlets have described as a Trump whisperer has not gone unnoticed in other European capitals.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July thanked him for helping build a connection with Trump as the war in Ukraine continued to rage.
While these conversations are often policy-focused, sometimes they are simply friendly chats over a shared passion - golf. It's Trump's favourite pastime and a sport for which Stubb once represented Finland as a member of its national team.
During a recent golf game at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, their bond continued to grow as they discussed extensive topics, including military tactics and personal insights into each other's strategies regarding international relations.
As their friendship evolves, both leaders are expected to continue influencing each other's perspectives on critical global issues.
