Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had a brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Friday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov has said.
Earlier this week Trump cancelled an official meeting with his Russian counterpart, citing the escalating tensions in Ukraine, just hours after telling reporters it would be “a very good time” to hold it.
The US president also cancelled a news conference on planned for Saturday, saying he made the decision “out of respect for the Bush Family” after death of former President George HW Bush.
The move will allow Trump to avoid questions not only on the G20 summit but also about developments in the ongoing Russia investigation.
This week his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, made a surprise appearance before a federal judge to plead guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia.
Among other lies, Cohen said he told Congress that all discussions of the Moscow Trump Tower project ended by January 2016, when they had actually continued until June of that year.
It was also reported that The Trump Organisation was seeking a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the time he was running for president and offered Putin a $50 million penthouse apartment.