With a smirk on his face, Donald Trump sent a playful warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin: « don’t meddle into the election ».
The US president met his Russian counterpart at the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, which kicked off on Friday.
Trump was asked by reporters if he would raise the scandal of election meddling during a meeting with Putin.
« Yes, of course I will, » Trump replied, before pointing the finger at the Russian leader and saying « don’t meddle into the election ».
Putin smiled as the comment was interpreted for him.
Watch the video in the player above.
A two-year scandal over Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 US election has plagued the US president for two years and saw an investigation into his campaign’s contact with the Kremlin during the 2016 vote.
But relations between the two countries have soured over recent years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backed Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Syrian war.
Russia is currently under sanctions imposed by the US and the EU and wants them lifted.
However, Trump appeared upbeat about their meeting
« Its a great honour to be with President Putin, » Trump told reporters. « We have many things to discuss, including trade and including some disarmament. »
Adding, « we look forward to spending some very good time together. A lot of very positive things going to come out of the relationship. »