Have Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin actually met? Trump claims yes and no. Photo / AP
Have Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin actually met? Trump claims yes and no. Photo / AP
To meet or not to meet?
That's the question dividing White House officials ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, next week when US President Donald Trump could come face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time.
Both leaders are scheduled to attend the summit that comes amid an investigation led by a US Special Prosecutor over whether Russia attempted to influence members of Trump's team in the lead up to the 2016 election.
On Monday, Trump demanded he "should be given an apology" over the inquiry.
"The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling ..." he tweeted.
The comments come amid reports of division within the White House over how to handle the Russian meeting. Some officials are said to believe the US should interact only with great caution, with perhaps an informal "pull aside" on the sidelines of the summit.
Other members of team Trump have reportedly been pressing for a high stakes bilateral meeting that will be closely scrutinised by media and politicians.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said they would "like to do it" but have not yet confirmed whether it will go ahead.
"I think we enjoy normal diplomatic relations with [Russia]," he said. "But it's got to be on terms that are in the best interest - in our national interest."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there "will be a possibility" for such a meeting.
"Let's wait for this G20 summit. But I repeat again: to our regret, there have so far been no definite arrangements regarding this [meeting]" he said.
GOING ROGUE?
The prospect of a meeting raises fears of Trump going off-script in what could be a damaging foray for the US. Last time he met with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak he reportedly revealed "code word" intelligence of an Islamic State plot that could have put the lives of spies in danger.
If it does go ahead, former Russian KGB general Oleg Kalugin said Putin would have "other priorities" rather than just hacking allegations, such as easing sanctions, raising oil prices, as well as next year's presidential elections in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / AP
"Putin knows how to redirect a conversation in his favour," Kalugin told AP.
Russian Affairs Professor Nina Khrushcheva said Trump was in an "impossible position".
"He can't be too nice to Putin because it's going to be interpreted in a way that suggests he has a special relationship with Russia," she said.
"He can't be too mean because Putin has long arms and KGB thinking. So Trump needs to have a good relationship with him but he also needs to fulfil his campaign promises of establishing better relations with Russia."
In November, around the time of the contest he told MSNBC "I do have a relationship" with the Russian President.
"I do have a relationship and I can tell you that he's very interested in what we're doing here today. He's probably very interested in what you and I are saying today, and I'm sure he's going to be seeing it in some form," he said.
"He's done a very brilliant job in terms of what he represents and who he's representing
"If you look at what he's done with Syria, if you look at so many different things he has really eaten our president's lunch," he said about then President Obama.
In March 2014 at the Conservative Political Action Conference he bragged about being treated "so great" in Russia for the Miss Universe event.
"I was in Moscow a couple of months ago ... they treated me so great. Putin even sent me a present. Beautiful present with a beautiful note. I spoke to all of his people. And, you know, you look at what he's doing with President Obama. He's, like, toying with him. He's toying with him," he said.
He also said the decision to "go in and take Crimea" after the Sochi Olympics was "smart".
"When he goes in and takes Crimea, he's taking the heart and soul because that's where all the money is," he said.
President Donald Trump. Photo / AP
In May 2014 Trump told the National Press Club that he spoke with Putin in Moscow.
"I was in Moscow recently," he said. "And I spoke indirectly - and directly - with President Putin who could not have been nicer."
Another radio interview with Michael Savage in October 2015 that was unearthed by the Democratic Coalition Against Trump also hears him reiterating claims they met and "got along great".
He has also previously claimed the pair appeared on 60 Minutes together where he "got to know him very well" despite it later emerging Trump was interviewed in New York and Putin in Moscow for the same show.
However by the middle of 2016, Trump sought to distance himself from the Russian leader. It's unclear whether this was due to headlines over Russian interference meaning he sought to downplay their relationship, or whether he had overstated how close they were to begin with.
In July 2016 Trump told a rally "I never met Putin, I don't know who Putin is. He said one nice thing about me. I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin."
He also bragged about Putin calling him a "genius" which is also a generous interpretation. The Russian leader is actually said to have used a word that roughly translates to "bright" as in flamboyant and colourful that Trump perhaps optimistically interpreted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / AP
He also clarified his earlier remarks in an ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos, saying he had "no relationship" with Putin and didn't "think" he had ever met him.
"I have no relationship with Putin," he said, adding that the Russian leader had "said nice things about me over the years".
"I don't think I've ever met him," he said. "Uh I have never spoken with him on the phone."
"I didn't meet him, I haven't spent time with him ... I wouldn't know him from Adam except I see his picture and I would know what he looks like".
How well they know each other remains the subject of an investigation being carried out by the FBI who is looking into Russian interference in the US election campaign.
One thing we know? The on-again, off-again claims have been rated a "full flop" by factcheckers Politifact.
