Donald Trump Had ‘Informal’ Conversation with Putin: White House

Washington: US President Donald Trump had an “informal” conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, said the White House on Saturday. According to a statement issued by the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders, “as is typical at multilateral events, President Trump and the First Lady had a number of informal conversations with world leaders at the dinner last night, including President Putin.” However, she did not elaborate the content of the conversation, reports Xinhua news agency.

Trump tweeted earlier on Thursday before arriving in Argentina for the G-20 Summit that “based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting... in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin.” In his interview with CNN on Saturday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained that Trump had cancelled the meeting “because the Russians behaved in a way that is deeply inconsistent with international law and is outrageous.” Speaking about the conditions for a second Trump-Putin summit, Pompeo said that “we want the sailors returned, we want the ships returned.” (IANS)