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Trump and Putin Held a Second, Undisclosed, Private Conversation Trump and Putin Held a Second, Undisclosed, Private Conversation
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump had a second, previously undisclosed, private conversation with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia this month, the White House acknowledged on Tuesday, raising new questions about their relationship as the cloud of Russia investigations continues to shadow the Trump administration. WASHINGTON — Hours into a long dinner with world leaders who had gathered for the Group of 20 summit meeting, President Trump left his chair at the sprawling banquet table and headed to where President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was seated. Earlier in the day, the two presidents had met for the first time, yielding what the Trump administration later described as a warm rapport, even as they talked about Russia’s interference in the United States’ 2016 elections.
The hourlong conversation in Hamburg, Germany, took place at a private dinner among world leaders at a concert hall on the banks of the Elbe River during the Group of 20 economic summit meeting, with only a Kremlin interpreter present to listen to the exchange. It followed a formal meeting between the two presidents that lasted more than two hours earlier in the day, and included their foreign ministers for a fraught discussion about Moscow’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 American elections. The July 7 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, was the single most scrutinized of the Trump presidency. But it turned out there was another, potentially just as important, encounter: a roughly hourlong one-on-one discussion over dinner that was only overheard by a Kremlin-provided interpreter.
In the earlier meeting, Mr. Trump questioned the Russian president about his role in the American vote. Mr. Putin denied his involvement, and the two men agreed to move beyond the dispute in the interest of finding common ground on other matters, including a limited cease-fire in Syria. No presidential relationship has been more dissected than the one between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin, a dynamic only heightened by the swirl of investigations into whether Mr. Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to sway the election in his favor. Nevertheless, the meeting was confirmed by the White House only on Tuesday, after some attendees privately expressed surprise that it had occurred.
But the intimate dinner conversation, of which there is no official United States government record, because no American official other than the president was involved, is the latest to raise eyebrows. Foreign leaders who witnessed it later commented privately on the oddity of an American president flaunting such a close rapport with his Russian counterpart. The dinner discussion caught the attention of other leaders around the table, some of whom later remarked privately on the odd spectacle of an American president seeming to single out the Russian leader for special attention at a summit meeting that included some of the United States’ staunchest, oldest allies.
“Pretty much everyone at the dinner thought this was really weird, that here is the president of the United States, who clearly wants to display that he has a better relationship personally with President Putin than any of us, or simply doesn’t care,” said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a New York-based research and consulting firm, who said he heard directly from attendees. “They were flummoxed, they were confused and they were startled.” The White House acknowledged the conversation on Tuesday but said there was nothing unusual about it, batting aside the suggestion that it had been deliberately hidden from public view.
The encounter occurred more than midway through the lengthy dinner, when Mr. Trump left his seat and approached Mr. Putin, who had been seated next to his wife, first lady Melania Trump. Late Tuesday night, Mr. Trump derided news reports about it as “sick.” He said the dinner was not a secret, since all of the world leaders at the summit meeting and their spouses were invited by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. “Press knew!” he tweeted.
In a statement, a White House official on Tuesday described the meeting as routine and brief, and explained the lack of an American translator by noting that the president was accompanied by a Japanese interpreter who did not speak Russian. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that any insinuation that the White House has tried to hide the encounter was false. “Even a dinner arranged for top 20 leaders in Germany is made to look sinister!” Mr. Trump added.
While the private leaders-and-spouses dinner was on Mr. Trump’s public schedule, the news media was not allowed to witness any part of it, nor were reporters provided with an account of what transpired. Mr. Trump’s traveling press contingent did note, however, that his motorcade left the dinner four minutes after Mr. Putin’s did.
The conversation took place at a private meal that lasted more than three hours after a concert for the leaders and their spouses at the Elbphilharmonie, a concert hall on the banks of the Elbe River.
In the earlier, formal meeting, Mr. Trump said later, he asked the Russian president twice about his role in the American vote. Mr. Putin denied involvement, and the two men agreed to move beyond the dispute in the interest of finding common ground on other matters, including a limited cease-fire in Syria.
There is no official United States government record of the intimate dinner conversation, because no American official other than the president was involved.
“Pretty much everyone at the dinner thought this was really weird, that here is the president of the United States, who clearly wants to display that he has a better relationship personally with President Putin than any of us, or simply doesn’t care,” said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a New York-based research and consulting firm, who said he had heard directly from attendees. “They were flummoxed, they were confused and they were startled.”
The encounter occurred more than midway through the lengthy dinner, when Mr. Trump left his chair and approached Mr. Putin, who had been seated next to the first lady, Melania Trump.
In a statement on Tuesday, a White House official described the meeting as routine and brief, and explained the lack of an American translator by noting that the president had been accompanied by a Japanese interpreter who did not speak Russian. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said any insinuation that the White House had tried to hide the encounter was false.
A second White House official confirmed that the meeting had occurred but did not offer any details, and insisted on anonymity because the discussion was private.A second White House official confirmed that the meeting had occurred but did not offer any details, and insisted on anonymity because the discussion was private.
Russia specialists said such an encounter — even on an informal basis at a social event — raised red flags because of its length, which suggests a substantive exchange, and the fact that there was no American interpreter, note taker or national security or foreign policy aide present. Russia specialists said such an encounter — even on an informal basis at a social event — raised concern because of its length, which suggests a substantive exchange, and because there was no American interpreter, note taker, or national security or foreign policy aide present.
“We’re all going to be wondering what was said, and that’s where it’s unfortunate that there was no U.S. interpreter, because there is no independent American account of what happened,” Stephen Pifer, a former ambassador to Ukraine who also specializes Russia and nuclear arms control. “We’re all going to be wondering what was said, and that’s where it’s unfortunate that there was no U.S. interpreter, because there is no independent American account of what happened,” said Steven Pifer, a former ambassador to Ukraine who also specializes in Russia and nuclear arms control.
“If I was in the Kremlin, my recommendation to Putin would be, ‘See if you can get this guy alone,’ and that’s what it sounds like he was able to do,” added Mr. Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.“If I was in the Kremlin, my recommendation to Putin would be, ‘See if you can get this guy alone,’ and that’s what it sounds like he was able to do,” added Mr. Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
The new revelation comes as the Trump administration struggles to improve its relationship with Russia while under pressure from multiple investigations into possible ties between the American president’s campaign and Moscow. Those inquiries have made what normally would be seen as an attempt at diplomacy between world leaders politically toxic. The Trump administration is struggling to improve its relationship with Russia while under pressure from multiple investigations into possible ties between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Moscow. Those inquiries have made what would normally be seen as an attempt at diplomacy between world leaders politically toxic.
The evening after Mr. Trump’s two meetings with Mr. Putin — the first lasting 135 minutes and the later, hourlong dinner conversation — the American president returned to Washington. On the Air Force One flight back, his top advisers were helping to draft a statement Mr. Trump approved about a meeting his son, Donald Trump Jr., attended last year with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who was promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government attempt to help the Trump campaign. The evening after his two meetings with Mr. Putin — the first lasting 135 minutes and the second an hour — Mr. Trump returned to Washington. On the Air Force One flight back, his top advisers helped draft a statement about a meeting his son Donald Trump Jr. attended last year with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
“We have the worst relationship as a country right now with Russia than we have in decades, and yet we have these two leaders that, for reasons that do not make sense and have not been explained to anyone’s satisfaction, are hellbent on adoring each other,” Mr. Bremmer said. “You can take everything that’s been given to us, and it doesn’t add up.”“We have the worst relationship as a country right now with Russia than we have in decades, and yet we have these two leaders that, for reasons that do not make sense and have not been explained to anyone’s satisfaction, are hellbent on adoring each other,” Mr. Bremmer said. “You can take everything that’s been given to us, and it doesn’t add up.”
On Tuesday, the Kremlin intensified its demands for that the Trump administration return two compounds in the United States that the Obama administration seized from Russia last fall in retaliation for the election meddling. After meeting with Thomas A. Shannon, the under secretary of state for political affairs, Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said he had warned the Americans that there must be an “unconditional return” of the property or Moscow would retaliate. On Tuesday, the Kremlin intensified its demands that the Trump administration return two compounds in the United States that the Obama administration seized from Russia last fall in retaliation for the election meddling. After meeting with Thomas A. Shannon Jr., the under secretary of state for political affairs, Sergei A. Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said he had warned the Americans that there must be an “unconditional return” of the property or Moscow would retaliate.
The State Department said no such agreement was in the offing. The State Department said no such agreement was in store.
“These deals, so to speak, are going to take some time,” Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, told reporters on Tuesday. “Nothing is coming together anytime soon.”“These deals, so to speak, are going to take some time,” Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, told reporters on Tuesday. “Nothing is coming together anytime soon.”
Mr. Trump announced on Tuesday night that he planned to nominate Jon M. Huntsman Jr., a former envoy to China and Singapore, as his ambassador to Russia. Mr. Huntsman’s nomination has been expected for months, but the multiple investigations into Mr. Trump’s campaign, and whether it colluded with Russia, are likely to figure prominently in his confirmation hearing. Mr. Trump announced on Tuesday night that he planned to nominate Jon M. Huntsman Jr., a former envoy to China and Singapore, as his ambassador to Russia. Mr. Huntsman’s nomination has been expected for months, but the investigations into Mr. Trump’s campaign and whether it colluded with Russia are likely to figure prominently in his confirmation hearing.