U.S. President Donald Trump will have his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 Summit next week in Hamburg, Germany, according to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.
McMaster would not say at a White House media briefing Thursday whether the two leaders will discuss Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election when they meet on the sidelines of the summit.
"There is no specific agenda," McMaster said, adding, "It's whatever the president wants to talk about."
The meeting comes amid several U.S. investigations into allegations that Russia meddled in the election through efforts that included cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia engaged in widespread interference with the intent of helping Trump win the White House. Last week, former Homeland Security agency chief Jeh Johnson and other U.S. officials confirmed Russia’s meddling, but in testimony on Capitol Hill, said there was no evidence that Moscow was able to change the vote count.
Putin has rejected claims of Russian government involvement in cyberattacks on the United States. He has said, however, that "patriotic" hackers might have carried out the attacks.
Some Trump administration officials want the U.S. to remain wary of Russia while the investigations are under way; but, Trump and others in his administration are eager to meet with Putin and have been pushing to arrange media access and other protocol typically associated with full bilateral meetings.
