President Donald trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a debate on 7 July, said the White house. A senior White house official said that the discussion lasted "almost an hour".

In a statement the White house stated that the conversation took place in front of other world leaders and their spouses at the dinner organised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the G20 summit. Trump was sitting next to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Abe and first lady Melania trump sat next to Putin. The white house said trump approached my wife and talked with Putin during lunch.

The discussion occurred after the scheduled two-hour bilateral meeting on the same day. The white house in its statement sought to downplay the significance of the discussion. "It's not just completely normal, it's part of the duties of the President, to interact with world leaders," the statement reads.

The presidents of the United States at summits often hold private and impromptu discussions with other world leaders. However, the lack of immediate disclosure of information from the administration as well as his own position trump against Russia has caused significant issues after reports of the discussion.

John Kirby, diplomatic and military analyst who was a representative of the State Department during the Obama administration, said that smaller informal meetings were common. But he also pointed out the potentially problematic aspects of the meeting.
sections: Politics, World News