WORLD
Putin and Trump meet on sidelines of G20 summit
Baku, July 7, AZERTAC
Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are having a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, TASS reports.
The meeting is being held in Congress Center Hamburg and those taking part in it are Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
If Moscow and Washington want to iron out pressing issues together, phone talks are not enough, face-to-face meetings between leaders are essential, according to Putin.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump opted for not answering reporters’ questions at their meeting in spite of the fuss around the talks.
Putin and Trump entered the negotiation room and when reporters were allowed in, both heads of state had taken seats in armchairs with the top diplomats sitting beside them.
Over 30 reporters immediately crowded the room and first Trump and then Putin said a few words about the importance of this direct dialogue.
After these short remarks, the leaders indicated that the part of the meeting open for the media was over. The reporters began shouting out questions deafening one another. Putin and Trump did not react to these requests and continued speaking in undertones.
When requested to shake hands, the presidents showed no response. Nevertheless, due to the reporters’ persistence Putin and Trump shook hands even twice.
The journalists’ fuss got both the presidents and foreign ministers to smile. After the reporters left the room, the meeting was continued behind closed doors.