White House: Trump to meet Putin at G-20 summit

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump will convene a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit of industrial and emerging-market nations next week in Germany, the White House said Thursday, amid swirling allegations about Moscow's role in the 2016 elections.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster confirmed Trump will meet with Putin along the sidelines of the annual Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, part of an itinerary that will include meetings with several world leaders.

Trump's first in-person encounter with Putin has been highly anticipated as Trump pushes back against allegations some of his associates may have had contact with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign and the transition.

All 17 U.S. intelligence agencies have agreed Russia was behind last year's hack of the Democratic Party's email systems and tried to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump.

Members of his campaign are under investigation for possible collusion with Russia in the lead-up to the campaign. Trump has denied he had any contacts with Russia during his campaign. Russian officials have denied any meddling in the 2016 election.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies after the White House's announcement Putin is expecting to meet with Trump in Hamburg. They "will meet at the summit in one way or another. We have said it before," he told state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.

McMaster and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn would not say whether the president intends to address accusations Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, saying the agenda is "not finalized" for this or any other meeting.

The U.S.-Russian relationship deteriorated during President Barack Obama's eight years in office, and Trump frequently said he was hopeful of improving American ties with Russia.

But major disagreements remain over Ukraine and Syria, and Trump said in April that U.S-Russian relations "may be at an all-time low."