Trump says he and Putin ‘discussing various things’ and it’s ‘going well’

By VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
ABC

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are holding their first official meeting as heads of state on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

“It’s an honor to be with you,” Trump said to President Putin at the beginning of their meeting.

“President Putin and I have been discussing various things. I think it’s going very well, we’ve had some very, very good talks,” Trump told reporters who were allowed into the room briefly.

Trump added, “We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States, and for everybody concerned.”

Trump and Putin were joined at their more formal meeting by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and two translators.

Putin said he was “delighted” to meet with Trump personally and hoped their meeting “will yield positive results,” according to the translator.

The Russian president said while he and Trump have spoken over the phone — three times since Trump took office – such calls are “never enough.”

Trump did not answer questions from the media on whether they will discuss Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Before their high-stakes sit-down, the two leaders had a casual run-in this morning where they exchanged a handshake.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-putin-discussing-things-meeting/story?id=48474106