U.S. President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a light-hearted warning not to interfere again in American elections.
Appearing before reporters during his bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump was asked whether he would tell the Russian leader to not meddle in the U.S. electoral process.
“Yes, of course I will,” replied Trump who then, with a smile on his face, turned to the Russian president to say: “Don’t meddle in the election, president.” He then repeated “don’t meddle in the election,” while pointing a finger at Putin.
The exchange is likely to reinforce a perception among many that Trump does not take the issue seriously.
First post-Mueller report meeting
It was the first meeting between the two leaders since special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation concluded there was no conspiracy or coordination between Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign and Russian government officials.
Three U.S. intelligence agencies, however, jointly stated they were highly confident that Moscow orchestrated a sophisticated campaign to influence the election.
The White House says Trump and Putin, in their Friday meeting in Japan, reviewed the state of relations between the two countries and agreed they will continue discussion on a 21st century model of arms control, which Trump said should also include China. The White House says Trump and Putin also discussed the situations in Iran, Syria, Venezuela and Ukraine.
Last November, Trump canceled a meeting with Putin at the G-20 in Argentina after Russia seized two Ukrainian vessels and their crew members in the Sea of Azov, but the continued detention of those crew members does not appear to be deterring the leaders from meeting this time.