A bilateral meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday resulted in a he said/he said dispute regarding the details of the foreign leaders' meeting.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Trump “accepted” Putin’s assertion that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 election. His statement is at odds with what Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said about the meeting.
Tillerson said Trump opened the conversation with Putin by confronting him over Russian cyberattacks during the campaign. The top U.S. diplomat claimed Trump continued to press Putin on the matter despite the Russian president’s repeated denials.
But speaking after the meeting, Lavrov told Reuters that Trump accepted Putin’s claim that Russia did not interfere in the election.
"U.S. President Trump said that he heard firm assertions from Russian President Putin that it is not true and that Russian authorities have not meddled in the elections," Lavrov said. “[Trump] said that he accepts these assertions. That's it.”