Russia Crows Over Putin's Meeting With Trump
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR JULY 8, 2017
MOSCOW — There was a certain degree of exulting in the Russian capital on Saturday in the wake of the first meeting between President Vladimir V. Putin and President Trump, with Mr. Putin himself saying that the American president seemed satisfied with his answers on the hacking issue and that the talks had set the stage for improved relations.
Asked repeatedly about the two presidents’ conversation about accusations of Russian hacking during the 2016 American election, Mr. Putin said at a news conference in Hamburg, Germany, that Mr. Trump had paid a lot of attention to the issue, asking multiple questions.
“When possible, I answered his questions in detail,” Mr. Putin said, noting that he had reviewed previous exchanges that he had had with former President Barack Obama on the topic. “I got the impression that my answers satisfied him.”
And asked repeatedly whether Mr. Trump believed his denials about Russian interference, Mr. Putin said each time that a reporter should ask the American president.
One Russian tabloid called the meeting “historic,” and over all there was a sense of relief that if short on concrete agreements, the talks seemed to halt the downward spiral in relations and lack of contact between the two countries.
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