US President Donald Trump and Putin met twice at G20 in Germany

President Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin at second, previously undisclosed meeting at the G20, White House confirms
They held talks joined only by a Russian translator hours after a formal sit down, reports say.

Details of what they discussed were not revealed. There was no official record.

Their relationship is under intense scrutiny amid allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

US intelligence believe Russia helped Mr Trump get elected during last year's presidential campaign, something denied by Russia. Mr Trump has denied any collusion.

The second meeting happened during a private meal of heads of state at the G20 summit in Hamburg.

The US president was alone, and Mr Putin was attended only by his official interpreter, with US media saying it lasted an hour.

The only version of what was discussed was provided to White House officials by Mr Trump himself, as there were no other US aides present at the conversation.

The White House confirmed this meeting after media reports revealed the encounter. An official described the interaction as a "brief conversation", not a "second meeting".

A Russian translator was used, the official added, because the US translator at the dinner did not speak Russian.

The second talks were first reported by Ian Bremmer, president of the US-based Eurasia Group, in a newsletter to clients. He described that both talked "privately and animatedly" and that the lack of a US translator had raised eyebrows at the dinner. 

At the formal meeting, their first face-to-face encounter, Mr Trump said he repeatedly pressed Mr Putin about the allegations of interference in the US vote.

"I said, 'Did you do it?' He said, 'No, I did not, absolutely not.' I then asked him a second time, in a totally different way. He said, 'Absolutely not.'"

-BBC