The Latest on President Donald Trump’s second official visit to Europe (all times local) :
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump’s second official visit to Europe (all times local) :
10: 15 p.m.
Sen. Mark Warner says President Donald Trump shouldn’t relax any sanctions against Russia as lawmakers investigate that nation’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The Virginia Democrat, vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, says Trump had undermined his case on Russia interfering in the presidential race well before he met Friday with Vladimir Putin.
Warner says statements by the administration that Trump pressed Putin on Russia’s efforts to influence the election “would have had much more force” if Trump hadn’t previously expressed doubts about who was behind cyberattacks.
Warner says Trump also hurt his case by previously criticizing the integrity of U. S. intelligence agencies that attributed the meddling to Russia.
___
8: 50 p.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says it’s no surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin is assuring President Donald Trump that Moscow didn’t meddle in the 2016 U. S. presidential election.
Ryan was asked at a news conference about Putin’s comments made during a meeting with Trump on Friday on the sidelines of an international summit in Germany.
Ryan says he’d expect Putin “to deny what clearly he has done over the years, not just with the U. S. election but other elections throughout Europe.”
The Wisconsin Republican says that “it comes as no surprise to me Vladimir Putin would deny what we know they did.”
Ryan repeated that he doesn’t believe Russian interference in the presidential election affected its outcome. But he says that “nevertheless, they tried.”
___
8: 10 p.m.
Russia’s foreign minister says President Donald Trump has accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assurances that Moscow didn’t meddled in the 2016 U. S. presidential election.
Sergey Lavrov made the claim to reporters following Trump and Putin’s lengthy meeting on the sidelines of an international summit in Germany.
That account appears at odds with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s description of the meeting.
Tillerson said the president was “rightly focused on how do we move forward from what may be simply an intractable disagreement at this point.”
U. S. intelligence officials have blamed Russia for election hacking and other efforts to influence the election to help Trump win.
___
8: 02 p.m.
Russia’s foreign minister says that Russian military police will monitor a cease-fire in southwestern Syria, under a Russia-U. S. deal.
Sergey Lavrov tells reporters after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump in Germany that the lengthy talks were “very constructive.” He says they touched on cybersecurity, Ukraine, North Korea and other issues.
Lavrov says the cease-fire deal was brokered by Russia, the U. S. and Jordan. He says Moscow and Washington will ensure the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access.
A monitoring center will be set up in Jordan, and the Russian military police will oversee its implementation
___
7: 55 p.m.
Leaders of the Group of 20 economic powers and their spouses have gathered at Hamburg’s spectacular new Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were seated next to French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.
The leaders applauded the summit host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as she took her place in the row behind the Trumps.
The leaders are hearing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by American Kent Nagano.
Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer, are classical music fans. Sauer rarely accompanies the chancellor on official business but was on hand for the G-20 and to host the concert alongside Merkel.
___
7: 53 p.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had “positive chemistry” during their first meeting.
Trump and Putin met for more than two hours Friday at an international summit in Germany. It was only scheduled to last 30 minutes.
Tillerson says the meeting was “very constructive.” He’s adding that “there was so much to talk about” that neither leader “wanted to stop.”
The top U. S. diplomat also says that first lady Melania Trump was sent into the meeting at one point to “see if she could get us out of there “
But Tillerson says the meeting lasted another hour after the visit, joking that “clearly she failed.”
___
7: 45 p.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the Russians have asked the U. S. for proof and evidence of their alleged interference in the 2016 election, which Russia denies.
Tillerson says the ask was made during a lengthy meeting in Germany between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said the president pressed Putin on the issue and that they’d agreed to follow-up meetings.
That includes a new working group on cybersecurity and election interference.
Tillerson says that “the meeting was very constructive” and that the two leaders “connected very quickly.”
___
7: 44 p.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “had a pretty good exchange” as to how to handle the threat of North Korea.
But Tillerson added Friday after the leaders’ meeting that the Russians “see it a little different than we do.”
The top U. S. diplomat is noting that Russia’s ultimate goal mirrors what the United States wants: the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
He sys the differences are the tactics used to achieve that goal. He isn’t elaborating.
Tillerson also says that, despite Trump’s recent tweet to the contrary, the U. S. has not “given up hope” that China will help with North Korea.
Trump and Putin met for more than two hours at an international summit in Germany.
___
7: 35 p.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the Trump administration sees no long-term role for the Assad family and the Assad regime in Syria.
Tillerson tells reporters at a briefing in Hamburg, Germany, that “how” Syrian President Bashar Assad “leaves is yet to be determined.” But he says he thinks there will be a transition away from the Assad government.
The United States and Russia announced an agreement Friday for a cease-fire in southwest Syria set to take effect July 9.
Tillerson describes the deal as the first indication of the Trump administration and Russia being able to work together in Syria.
___
7: 27 p.m.
President Donald Trump opened his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin by raising concerns about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tells reporters that Trump pressed Putin on the issue during their more than two-hour meeting on the sidelines of a summit of world leaders in Germany.
Tillerson says Putin denied any involvement during his more than two-hour meeting with Trump.
Tillerson says he thinks the president “is rightly focused on how do we move forward from something that may be an intractable disagreement at this point.”
____
7: 10 p.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he had a long conversation with President Donald Trump, and says that “many issues have piled up, including Ukraine, Syria, some bilateral and other issues.”
He says he and Trump also spoke about “fighting terrorism and cybersecurity” during their two-plus-hour meeting
Putin made the comments at the beginning of a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He offered apologies to Abe for running late after his meeting with Trump stretched far longer than originally scheduled.
____
6: 32 p.m.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spent more than two hours meeting Friday on the sidelines of a world leaders’ summit.
State Department spokesman RC Hammond says that the meeting in Hamburg, Germany lasted two hours and 16 minutes.
It had originally been scheduled for just 30 minutes.
____
6: 15 p.m.
A meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that was supposed to last a half-hour has stretched to more than 90 minutes.
Trump had originally been scheduled to depart the meeting site of the Group of 20 world leaders in Hamburg, Germany at 4: 20 p.m. local time following his meeting with Putin.
But Svetlana Lukash, a Russian official accompanying Putin at the talks, said the meeting that began around 4 p.m. local time was still ongoing at 5: 50 p.m.
The longer-than-scheduled meeting comes as US. officials say the United States and Russia have reached an agreement for a cease-fire in southwest Syria that is set to take effect on Sunday.
____
5: 44 p.m.
Hillary Clinton’s former campaign chair is telling President Donald Trump to “Get a grip” and get his “head in the game.”
John Podesta says on Twitter: “Dude, get your head in the game. You’re representing the US at the G20.”
Trump had tweeted earlier Friday that “Everyone” in Hamburg, Germany “is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful!”
Trump is attending a summit of world leaders in the country.
Podesta said he saw Trump’s tweet during a stop on a cross-country road trip with his wife.
He says, “God only knows what you’ll be raving about on twitter by the time we get to Utah.
