Putin lauds Trump

Denial over poll meddling ‘accepted’, Russian leader says

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has hailed his first faceto-face meeting with US President Donald Trump, saying his assurances that Russia didn’t meddle in the US election were accepted.

Much of the focus heading into the G20 summit in Hamburg had been on the first head-to-head meeting of Mr Putin and Mr Trump.

And the Russian leader said they had a long discussion about the allegations of Russian interference in last year’s election that have dogged Mr Trump’s presidency.

Mr Putin said he reiterated his “well-known” position that “there are no grounds” for the allegations.

“He asked many questions on the subject, I tried to answer them all,” he said.

“It seems to me that he has taken note of that and agreed, but it’s better to ask him about his attitude.”

Mr Putin said his answers were detailed and covered his discussions on the election meddling issue with representatives of the previous administration, including former President Barack Obama. But he would not reveal details of his exchange with Mr Trump, saying that was confidential.

“He asked questions, I replied. It seemed to me that he was satisfied with the answers,” he said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was at the meeting, said the two leaders “connected very quickly” and had “clear positive chemistry”.

They were speaking at the end of the summit, where 19 of the assembled world leaders, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, renewed their commitment to the Paris climate deal. This was despite the US pulling out earlier this year.

On a weekend marked by fractious negotiations and widespread protests and violence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said while she still condemned Mr Trump’s decision to exit the Paris deal she was “gratified” other powers opposed changing the deal.