Trump Says He 'Gave Up Nothing' at Talks With Putin

US President Donald Trump's first ever one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin has encountered strong resentment in Washington, as many American officials have accused him of appearing weak as he stood next to Putin in Helsinki, leading some to believe Russia had "dirt" on him.

The US president wrote onhis Twitter account that hemade no concessions toPutin duringtheir recent meeting inHelsinki, sincethe presidents "merely talked aboutfuture benefits forboth countries." Trump, however, hasn't disclosed any additional details ofthe private conversation betweenthe head ofstate.

"When you hear the Fake News talking negatively aboutmy meeting withPresident Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave upNOTHING, we merely talked aboutfuture benefits forboth countries. Also, we got alongvery well, which is a good thing, exceptfor the Corrupt Media!"

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)July 23, 2018

In the wake ofthe summit, Trump faced severe criticism overhis stance duringthe talks withPutin and the press conference aftrewards.Republican lawmaker Bill Pascrell sent an open letter tothe House ofRepresentatives, demanding Trump's translator Marina Gross, the only American apart fromTrump inthe room duringthe Trump-Putin summit, totestify tothe goings-on. "The American public deserves toknow if the president made any further concessions, revealed national security secrets, or tried toprofit offthe presidency," he wrote ina letter.

The disappointment inWashington was prompted byseveral controversial remarks duringTrump's meeting withPutin, including that the United States was toblame forthe poor state ofbilateral relations. The US president also cast doubt onthe US intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered inthe 2016 election, an allegation that Moscow has repeatedly denied.

Trump and Putin met onJuly 16 fortheir first official summit inHelsinki, Finland. The two presidents had a one-on-one private conversation followed byan expanded meeting. The two heads ofstate discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, situation inUkraine, nuclear proliferation and Russia's alleged meddling inthe 2016 US presidential election.

(SPUTNIKNEWS)