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.
The Latest: President Trump and Russian President Putin meet in Germany for two hours and 16 minutes. https://t.co/FCcEUh22EX
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 7, 2017
JUST IN: President Trump's meeting with President Putin, originally scheduled for 30 minutes, concludes after 2 hours and 15 minutes pic.twitter.com/XBX0sggj7U
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 7, 2017
The meeting between Trump and Putin lasted nearly two hours longer than the scheduled 30 minutes https://t.co/9x5RQuJ862 pic.twitter.com/JsCqWtS0Nv
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 7, 2017
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.