Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS and Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout/File photos via REUTERS 
 
 HAMBURG U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a veteran businessman and a former spy, meet in person for the first time on Friday in the most highly anticipated encounter on the sidelines of the G20 summit. US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said Trump was “rightly focused on how do we move forward” from the issue, while Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov even claimed Trump had told Putin he accepted the Russian leader’s denials of involvement.
– For the first time since becoming POTUS, Donald Trump has met Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting happened on the sidelines of what Reuters calls a "closely watched" G20 summit. They're not kidding, considering the first media coverage coming out of the summit focuses on the handshake between the two, which was of course caught on video. Reuters notes that in addition to the handshake, Trump patted Putin on the arm and later on the back, and both men smiled. Per the Guardian, Trump told Putin, "Mr. Putin, it is an honor to be with you." Putin's reply: "I’m delighted to meet you personally, and I hope our meeting will bring results." The moment took place at an informal meeting of G20 leaders as the summit began in Hamburg, Germany; Trump and Putin are to hold their formal meeting at 3:45pm local time. Read why the meeting could be a "win-win" for Putin here.