Tillerson: Trump Opened Putin Meeting Raising Issue of Russian Election Meddling

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump opened the meeting with Vladimir Putin raising the issue of Russian election meddling. He said the two leaders had a “robust and lengthy” conversation that began with President Trump voicing the “concerns of the American people.”

The Russian president denied the allegations. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Mr. Tillerson’s counterpart, said President Trump accepted President Putin’s assurances that Russia didn’t attempt to influence the outcome.

The secretary of state, who attended the meeting along with Mr. Lavrov, didn’t see it in the same light. He did say the two agreed the issue has become a hindrance to better U.S.-Russian relations.

issue has become a hindrance to better relations between the two powers. The two leaders agreed to continue the discussion, with an eye toward securing a commitment that Russia won’t interfere in U.S. affairs in the future, Tillerson added.

“I think the president is rightly focused on how do we move forward from something that may be an intractable disagreement at this point,” Secretary Tillerson said.

Their first official sit-down, which was only originally scheduled to last for 30 minutes. But it clocked in at 2 hours and 16 minutes. The United States (US) and Russia have agreed on the terms of a cease-fire in southwest Syria.