Putin thinks President Trump believed his take on election
HAMBURG, Germany — The Latest on President Donald Trump's second official visit to Europe (all times local):
10:50 a.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he thinks President Donald Trump believed his in-person denials of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.
Putin spoke Saturday after the Group of 20 summit, where he and President Trump had their first face-to-face meeting.
He said President Trump asked him numerous questions about Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. election during a lengthy discussion on the issue.
Putin says he thinks his answers satisfied President Trump, but added that President Trump's opinion would be better sought from the U.S. president himself.
Putin said he gave detailed answers, including about his conversations with representatives of the Obama administration. He added he wouldn't divulge their details as the exchanges were confidential. "He asked questions, I replied. It seemed to me that he was satisfied with the answers."
___
4:25 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says 19 members of the Group of 20 have reaffirmed the Paris climate accord as "irreversible."
Merkel said Saturday that the summit's final statement "takes account" of the U.S. position rejecting the climate deal.
That leaves the United States as the odd one out after President Donald Trump announced his intent to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement. The Paris accord aims to lower emissions of the greenhouse gases scientists say cause global warming.
Merkel called the U.S. position "regrettable."
Officials did reach a common statement including President Trump about the other contentious issue at the summit, trade.
The statement retains the G-20's longstanding rejection of protectionism. But it also acknowledged that trade must be mutually beneficial and that countries can use "legitimate" trade defenses to protect workers and industries against being taken advantage of by trade partners.
___
4:23 p.m.
The White House says that President Donald Trump held a brief, unscheduled meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Saturday that President Trump and Erdogan chatted briefly on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
Sanders says the two leaders discussed the situation in Syria.
The U.S. and Russia announced an agreement for a cease-fire in southwest Syria during the G-20 summit.
President Trump and Erdogan held extended talks at the White House in May.
___
4:14 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he told the Chinese president that "something has to be done" about North Korea.
President Trump and President Xi Jinping met Saturday in Hamburg, Germany, days after President Trump tweeted about his frustration over China's inaction.
President Trump told Xi "I appreciate the things that you have done" with North Korea. North Korea's latest missile launch has prompted global calls for action.
The U.S. recently blacklisted one Chinese bank accused of illicit dealings with North Korea and is penalizing a Chinese shipping company and two Chinese individuals accused of facilitating illegal activities by the North.
President Trump says he also discussed "trade and trade imbalances" with Xi and aims to reach an arrangement that is more "equitable" and "reciprocal."
___
3:20 p.m.
A photograph of President Donald Trump's daughter sitting in her father's seat during an official event at the Group of 20 world leaders' summit is raising eyebrows.
A White House official says Ivanka Trump took her father's seat briefly on Saturday when the president stepped out of the room.
The official said Ivanka Trump had been sitting in the back of the room, and moved forward when the president of the World Bank began discussing topics affected by a new women's entrepreneurship fund she spearheaded.
The official said that when other leaders stepped out, their seats were also briefly filled by others.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting.
The photo was posted on Twitter by Svetlana Lukash, a Russian official attending the summit.
- By Ken Thomas
___
3:12 p.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump and his Indonesian counterpart "underscored their resolve to defeat terrorist networks in South Asia."
A statement Saturday following President Trump's meeting with President Joko Widodo in Hamburg, Germany, stressed the "importance of isolating terrorists from financial and ideological support."
The two leaders pledged to "coordinate closely on other threats to international security, including North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."
___
2:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he and the Japanese prime minister have been discussing North Korea's latest missile launch, calling the country a "problem and a menace."
President Trump met with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Saturday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit of developing and industrialized nations.
President Trump says they are "discussing many things" and adds that Abe is "very, very focused on what's going on with respect to North Korea."
President Trump also says they have made "a lot of progress" on trade-related issues.
President Trump and Abe dined together, along with the South Korean president, the night they arrived in Hamburg, Germany. The three leaders issued a joint statement calling for "early adoption" of a new United Nations Security Council resolution and additional sanctions to demonstrate to North Korea "that there are serious consequences for its destabilizing, provocative, and escalatory actions."
___
2:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump has squashed speculation that he won't be visiting London after all this year.
President Trump met Saturday in Germany with British Prime Minister Theresa May during an international summit in Germany. Asked about the invitation, President Trump replied that he will be going to London. He says details remain to be worked out.
May was the first world leader to visit President Trump at the White House. She brought an invitation from the queen for President Trump to come to London this year on a state visit.
But opposition to the idea mounted quickly, first from Britons who called the invitation premature. Later on, London's mayor called for the invitation to be rescinded after President Trump criticized the mayor's response to a deadly terrorist attack in the city.
___
1:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he hopes to take U.S. relations with Singapore to a "much bigger" level.
President Trump commented at the top of a meeting with Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong (lee haz-ee-en lahng). The leaders are attending an international summit in Germany.
President Trump described the relationship between the countries as "very close" and said they expect to do "excellent things together." He also said they currently have a "very big" relationship and predicted that "it will probably get much bigger" under his leadership.
Lee said he also hoped to do many more things with the U.S.
___
11:40 a.m.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin is addressing conflicting accounts of discussions between Putin and President Donald Trump over Russia's meddling in the U.S. election.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had told reporters after Friday's meeting that President Trump accepted Putin's assurances that Moscow didn't meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election — an account that appeared at odds with that of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Asked about the conflict on Saturday, Dmitry Peskov joked, "Trust Lavrov. I don't work for Tillerson."
Peskov demurred when pressed by reporters about the tone and other topics discussed by the two presidents when they met the previous day.
President Trump has said he believes that Russia may have hacked the emails of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton staffers, but that other countries have been involved as well.
President Trump and Putin's highly anticipated meeting was scheduled to last only 30 minutes, but extended for more than two hours.
___
11:27 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he plans to do "lots of deals" with Indonesia as he sits down with the country's president.
President Trump tells reporters at the start of a meeting with President Joko Widodo that the two have become friends and says: "We're going to be doing a lot of deals together."
He said the U.S. and Indonesia currently have a limited trade relationship, but says: "We will start doing a lot of trading with Indonesia."
Jokowi offered President Trump "warm greetings" from his "millions of fans" in Indonesia and said they all want to know when President Trump will visit.
President Trump responded: "We'll get there, we'll get there. It's a place I'd like to go."
___
11:23 a.m.
Denmark's development minister Ulla Toernaes (OU-la TEUR-nes) says Danes will donate 69 million kroner ($10.6 million) over three years to the new women's entrepreneurship fund that World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced Saturday.
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative has raised more than $325 million from governments including the U.S., Germany, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Toernaes says that, "support for female entrepreneurs is a major factor in promoting women's sexual and reproductive rights."
She adds that means "women can become full members of business community."
Toernaes was part of a European call to support international groups that perform abortions or provide information about abortion services after President Donald Trump cut off U.S. funding to groups that did so.
___
10:16 a.m.
President Donald Trump is praising his daughter, Ivanka, and acknowledging the challenges he's added to her life.
In a rare, self-deprecating moment, the president said Saturday during remarks in Hamburg, Germany that he's been proud of his eldest daughter from "day one."
He says, "If she weren't my daughter it would be so much easier for her," adding with a laugh: "That might be the only bad thing she has going, if you want to know the truth."
The candid aside came as President Trump was speaking at the launch of a new women's entrepreneurship fund that Ivanka Trump helped bring together.
Ivanka Trump moved to Washington to work as a senior adviser to her father and has faced pressure from critics who'd hoped she'd be able to push him to adopt more moderate policies.
___
10:03 a.m.
President Donald Trump is praising a new women's entrepreneurship fund spearheaded by his daughter and the World Bank that will help women access capital, financing and other support.
President Trump says that his administration is making a $50 million commitment to the effort at an event held alongside the Group of 20 world leaders' summit in Hamburg, Germany.
He says the group will help eliminate barriers for women to launch businesses and transform "millions and millions of lives."
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced Saturday that the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative had raised $325 million from governments including the U.S., Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Canada.
President Trump says that, "Empowering women is a core value that binds us together."
___
9:45 a.m.
First Daughter Ivanka Trump and the World Bank are rolling out a new fund that aims to help female entrepreneurs access capital, financing and other support.
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim says the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative fund has so far raised $325 million from various governments. He hopes to leverage that into a multibillion-dollar fund.
The money will go toward improving access to capital and markets, providing technical assistance, training and mentoring, pushing public policy and investing in projects and programs that support women and women-led businesses.
Kim says, "this is not a cute, little project," and says it will drive economic growth.
He's speaking at a panel on women's entrepreneurship that coincides with the meeting of Group of 20 leaders in Hamburg, Germany.
___
9:22 a.m.
President Donald Trump is meeting Britain's head of government on the sidelines of an international summit in Germany.
President Trump said Saturday that he and Prime Minister Theresa May have had "tremendous talks" and developed a "special relationship."
President Trump also says they are working on a trade deal that will be "great for both countries," but he provided no details.
The two leaders have met several times since President Trump took office and collaborate on a number of issues, from security to trade.
President Trump and May are sitting down for a meeting Saturday while attending the G-20 summit of industrialized and developed nations.
___
9:12 a.m.
President Donald Trump will meet with a long list of world leaders Saturday as he wraps up his second trip abroad.
President Trump will hold meetings with British Prime Minster Theresa May, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping of China.
He'll also attend a women's entrepreneurship finance event and participate in various sessions with fellow Group of 20 leaders.
The second day of the summit of world leaders that has been overshadowed by violent riots between anti-globalization activists and police is expected to include talks on global trade, climate change and international terrorism.
President Trump is set to return to Washington Saturday evening.
___
This story has been corrected to reflect that it was a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, not Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who addressed conflicting accounts of discussions between Putin and President Donald Trump over Russia's meddling in the U.S. election Saturday.