President Trump confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin about Moscow’s election meddling during a face-to-face meeting in Germany on Friday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters.
Tillerson said Trump repeatedly pressed Putin on the matter over the course of their more than two-hour meeting.
Putin denied Russia’s involvement. He told Russian state-backed media that they also discussed the ongoing wars in Syria and Ukraine, two global hotspots that have pitted the U.S. against Russia.
During the meeting, The Associated Press reported that the U.S. and Russia, which have been on opposing sides in the Syrian civil war, agreed to a cease-fire in the southwest corner of the country.
But Trump’s confrontation with Putin over Russia’s meddling in last year’s U.S. presidential election should temporarily relieve some political pressure on him at home.
Democrats have been angered by Trump’s reluctance to accept the conclusions of his top intelligence agencies that Russia sought to influence the election by targeting his challenger, Democrat Hillary Clinton, through an email hacking campaign.
Many believe Trump has been hesitant to embrace those findings because it would raise questions about the legitimacy of his victory.
At a Thursday press conference, Trump said he believed Russia was involved in the cyber campaign but that “other people and or countries” might have also played a part as well.
“Nobody really knows for sure,” Trump said at the time.
Critics accused Trump of undermining his intelligence agencies by questioning their conclusions while on foreign soil.
A special counsel is investigating the matter, as well as possible collusion between the Kremlin and associates of Trump’s campaign. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations of collusion and has cast the special counsel as a partisan “witch hunt.”
There is no evidence so far of collusion. The extent of Russian meddling — and the impact it may have had on the election — are still being debated.
The planned 30-minute meeting between Trump and Putin at the G-20 summit, their first-ever personal encounter, ran for 2 hours and 16 minutes.
The meeting was small. In addition to Trump and Putin, only Tillerson, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and two interpreters were present.
Trump has said he wants warmer U.S.-Russian relations, citing his desire for Russia’s assistance in the ongoing war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Pool reporters captured video of the two shaking hands and sitting in white seats next to one another before the meeting. Both leaned forward in their chairs and seemed at ease.
“We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, and for the United States and for everybody concerned,” Trump said. “It’s an honor to be with you.”
“I’m delighted to be able to meet you personally Mr. President,” Putin said. “And I hope, as you have said, our meeting will yield positive result.”
