Trump, Putin met off-the-record at G20

After his much-publicized two-hour meeting early this month with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Germany, U.S. President Donald Trump met informally with the Russian leader for an additional hour later the same day.

The second meeting, unreported at the time, took place at a dinner for G20 leaders, a senior White House official said. Halfway through the meal, Trump left his own seat to occupy a chair next to Putin. Trump was alone, and Putin was attended only by his official interpreter.

The newly disclosed conversation is likely to stoke further criticism, including perhaps from some fellow Republicans in Congress, that Trump is too cosy with the leader of a major U.S. adversary.

The session was first reported Monday by Ian Bremmer, head of the New York-based Eurasia Group, in a newsletter to group clients.