President Trump vs. Robert Mueller

‘He said he didn’t meddle’: Trump talks with Putin about U.S. elections, Syria in brief interactions
President Trump said Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin again denied his nation tampered in the U.S. presidential election last year, during brief conversations on the sidelines of an international summit.

Trump told reporters that he and Putin had more than one informal discussion after crossing paths at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Danang, Vietnam, before Trump flew to Hanoi for a bilateral meeting Sunday with Vietnamese leaders.

“He said he didn't meddle,” Trump said. “I asked him again. You can only ask so many times … He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did.”

"There was no collusion," Trump said on the plane. "Everybody knows there was no collusion." The president added that he is determined to enlist Moscow's help to end the civil war in Syria and to ramp up pressure on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

He said the investigation into his campaign's ties with Russia could hurt those efforts. "I think it’s a shame that something like that could destroy a very important potential relationship between 2 countries that are really important countries," Trump said.

Trump also cast blame on President Obama and Clinton, who famously attempted a "reset" of U.S. relations with Russia in Obama's first term. Trump referred to Clinton's "stupid reset button," in which she presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with an oversized "reset button" that erroneously used the Russian word for "overcharged" instead of "reset."

"Hillary tried it, she failed, nobody mentions it," Trump said. "She hit that reset button, it was a joke. But she tried and she failed." Trump said Obama had bad chemistry with Putin and Clinton was "in way over her head."

Trump did not answer when asked during the Air Force One flight to Hanoi whether he believed Putin's denial of the tampering.

“Every time he sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that,'" Trump said, “but I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it … I think he is very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country.”

But Trump made clear that the issue of Russian meddling in the election hovers over the leaders’ relationship and said it jeopardized their ability to work together on issues including North Korea’s escalating nuclear program and the deadly conflict in Syria.

“Having a good relationship with Russia’s a great, great thing. And this artificial Democratic hit job gets in the way,” Trump told reporters. “People will die because of it.”

Trump danced around the question of whether he believed Trump’s denials, telling reporters that pressing the issue would have accomplished little.

“He said he didn’t meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times,” said Trump.

“Well, look, I can’t stand there and argue with him,” he added later. “I’d rather have him get out of Syria, to be honest with you. I’d rather have him, you know, work with him on the Ukraine than standing and arguing about whether or not - cause that whole thing was set up by the Democrats.”

Trump’s suggestion that he may believe Putin over his own nation’s intelligence community is certain to re-ignite the firestorm over the issue of election meddling. Meanwhile, a special counsel investigation of potential collusion between Moscow and Trump campaign aides so far has resulted in two indictments for financial and other crimes unrelated to the campaign, as well as a guilty plea. Congressional committees have also been interviewing campaign and White House staff.

Earlier Saturday, the Kremlin issued a statement saying the leaders had reached agreement on a number of principles for the future of civil war-torn Syria now that the Islamic State group has largely been pushed out. Among the agreements’ key points, according to the Russians, were an affirmation of de-escalation zones, a system to prevent dangerous incidents between American and Russian forces, and a commitment to a peaceful solution governed by a Geneva peace process.

Trump said their agreement to support a political solution to Syria’s conflict would save “tremendous numbers of lives”.

“We did it very quickly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the resort of Danang for Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital. “We seem to have a very good feeling for each other, a good relationship considering we don’t know each other well.”

Talking after their meeting, Putin described Trump as “a well-mannered person and comfortable to deal with”.

“We know each other little, but the U.S. president is highly civil in his behavior, friendly. We have a normal dialogue but unfortunately little time,” he said.

After emphasizing last year on the campaign trail that it would be nice if the United States and Russia could work together on world problems, Trump has had limited contact with Putin since taking office.

The sight of Trump sitting down with Putin in public also revives the issue of election meddling - still under investigation. Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, has been indicted in the probe along with his former deputy, Rick Gates.

Trump said Putin had told him again that he hadn’t meddled in the election.

“I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it,” Trump said of the accusations. “I think he’s very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country.”

Putin dismissed suggestions Russia influenced the elections through political advertising. Tech companies, including Facebook, have said some Russian-bought political content spread on their platforms around the time of the election.

“There is no confirmation of our mass media meddling in election campaigns – and there can’t be any,” Putin said.

"I mean, give me a break, they are political hacks," Trump said. "So you look at it, I mean, you have Brennan, you have Clapper and you have Comey. Comey is proven now to be a liar and he is proven now to be a leaker. So you look at that and you have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he had nothing to do with them."