President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has a «very robust and lengthy exchange» about interference in the U.S. election, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters on Friday.
Trump and Putin met for more than two hours during the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, earlier in the day.
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President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that «it’s an honor to be with you» as the two leaders kicked off their much-anticipated bilateral meeting, one that was scheduled for just 30 minutes but wound up lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Neither Trump nor Putin, who were accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, respectively, offered specifics of what they would discuss once reporters left the room. Russian government-controlled Sputnik News reported Friday afternoon that Putin, at the start of a later meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said he and Trump had discussed «a lot of issues such as Ukraine, Syria, other problems, some bilateral issues,» as well as combating terrorism and cybersecurity.
Trump did not respond to a shouted question during his brief press availability with Putin as to whether or not he would raise Russia’s efforts to interfere in last year’s presidential campaign, according to reporters in the room.
«President Putin and I have been discussing various things, and I think it’s going very well. We’ve had some very, very good talks. We are going to have a talk now and obviously that will continue,» Trump said as photographers snapped photos of the two presidents, whose meeting took place at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. «But we look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned, and It’s an honor to be with you.»
Putin, through a translator, echoed his U.S. counterpart’s friendly welcome and said he and Trump «will really need personal meetings» in order to resolve certain policy issues.
«We have spoken on the phone with you several times before on very important bilateral and international issues. But phone conversation is never enough,» Putin said. «I’m delighted to be able to meet you personally, Mr. President. And I hope, as you have said, our meeting will yield positive result.»
Before the scheduled bilateral meeting Friday, Trump and Putin hadalready spoken briefly on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, The Associated Press reported. A video of a brief encounter between the two leaders shows them shaking hands and Trump patting Putin on the forearm and on the back.
Friday marked the first meeting between the two men since Trump’s election, with the backdrop of a campaign and presidency that have been fraught with reports that the Russian government sought to interfere in the presidential race to aid Trump’s candidacy as well as allegations that individuals close to Trump may have aided the Kremlin in its efforts.
Russia has denied those allegations and Trump has suggested only that Russia may have been to blame, stopping short of the certainty with which the intelligence community has leveled the charge. Trump is also facing an FBI investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into the alleged meddling and into whether Trump tried to obstruct justice as the probe advanced.
The White House had not said whether Trump planned to discuss Russia’s alleged campaign interference during his meeting with Putin Friday, where the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Ukraine are likely to be topics of conversation.
Hours before his meeting with Putin, Trump wrote online that “I look forward to all meetings today with world leaders, including my meeting with Vladimir Putin. Much to discuss.” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin, too, was looking forward to the meeting.
