US, Russia differ over Trump, Putin's election meddling talk
Hamburg [Germany] Jul 8 (ANI): Following the reports of the US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing the issue of meddling in the elections, the diplomats of both the counties argued over what both the leaders actually said to each other.
At first, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Trump accepted Putin's assurances that Russia was no way involved in the 2016 American election, reported the CNN.
Meanwhile as per the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the US president opened the session by "raising the concerns of the American people regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election."
As per reports, Russia asked for from US to support their claim regarding its involvement in the election, which the US did not produce in the meeting.
As per Tillerson, both the leaders had lengthy exchange on the subject.
"The President pressed President Putin on more than one occasion regarding Russian involvement. President Putin denied such involvement, as I think he has in the past," Tillerson said.
Meanwhile, Lavrov, speaking on camera in a separate briefing, said that, "President Trump said he's heard Putin's very clear statements that this is not true and that the Russian government didn't interfere in the elections and that he accepts these statements. That's all."
Surprisingly, both Tillerson and Lavrov were present in the room with Trump and Putin for the bilateral talks.
Later on another Trump administration official denied that Trump accepted Putin's claim of non-interference. (ANI)
This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI