Trump and Putin meet at G20

Trump And Putin Meet At G20 

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are holding a much anticipated face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg.

They have both said they want to repair ties damaged by the crises in Syria and Ukraine, as well as Russia’s alleged meddling in the US election.

The Russian president replied: “I’m delighted to be able to meet you personally Mr President. And I hope as you have said, our meeting will yield concrete results.

In characteristically confident fashion, Trump said he and Putin were holding very, very good talks

Russian media say the two leaders are due to meet in the afternoon for an hour, though other reports suggest it could be about 30 minutes.

It is unclear if they will speak to reporters afterwards or to what extent media will be admitted to the meeting. The two men have staked out opposing views on major international issues in the run-up to the summit.

Russian government sources had briefed that the talks would focus on the Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts, the war on terror, strategic security and bilateral issues. Likely flashpoints included North Korea’s successful ballistic missile test and the use by the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, of chemical weapons.

Earlier in the day Trump and Putin shook hands and exchanged pleasantries – an encounter captured in a video and posted to Facebook by the German cabinet.

Yesterday, Trump used a speech in the Polish capital Warsaw to call on Russia to stop “destabilising” Ukraine and other countries, and “join the community of responsible nations”.

Setting out his own G20 agenda in German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, Putin called for US-led sanctions, imposed in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, to be lifted on his country.

Putin also argued strongly in favour of the Paris climate agreement, saying it was a “secure basis for long-term climate regulation” and Russia wanted to make a “comprehensive contribution to its implementation”.

President Trump, of course, has taken America out of the agreement.