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Trump-Putin Meeting Lasts Nearly Two Hours Longer Than Scheduled

Twitter
July 7, 2017

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's highly anticipated first one-on-one meeting at the G-20 summit in Germany on Friday lasted more than two hours.

Trump and Putin's bilateral talk was originally scheduled for 30 minutes, according to reports, but ended up lasting two hours, 16 minutes.

Three U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the two countries struck a deal for a ceasefire in southwest Syria during the meeting. The Russians back the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, while the U.S. is aligned with anti-Assad rebels.

Trump and Putin exchanged pleasantries in front of cameras before their discussion, with Trump calling it an "honor" to be with Putin.

Tensions surrounded their talks due to the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump ignored questions from reporters on whether he would press Putin on the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that the Kremlin ordered the extensive effort to meddle in the election.

Trump has publicly questioned the intelligence on the matter, saying Thursday that it could have been Russia but also "other countries" that interfered.