President Donald Trump ripped as "fake news" reports of a second meeting he held with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Germany earlier this month.
Trump took to Twitter:
The White House confirmed a second, undisclosed meeting was held between the two leaders in Hamburg, though it said they had met only "briefly."
They held a formal meeting July 7 for more than an hour in which Trump later said Putin denied allegations he directed efforts to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The second meeting occurred informally at the final dinner that night – and the White House confirmed a Russian interpreter was the only other participant.
"It is not merely perfectly normal, it is part of a president's duties, to interact with world leaders," the administration said in a statement.
"Throughout the G-20 and in all his other foreign engagements, President Trump has demonstrated American leadership by representing our interests and values on the world stage."
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