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Vladimir Putin says can prove Trump did not pass Russia secrets

Vladimir Putin says can prove Trump did not pass Russia secrets

By REUTERS

A combination of file photos showing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, on January 15, 2016 and US President Donald Trump posing for a photo in New York City, US, on May 17, 2016. Photo: Reuters

SOCHI, RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump had not passed any secrets onto Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Washington last week and that he could prove it. Speaking at a news conference alongside Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Putin quipped that Lavrov had not passed what he said were the non-existent secrets onto him either. Putin said Russia was ready to hand a transcript of Trump's meeting with Lavrov over to US lawmakers if that would help reassure them. Two US officials said on Monday that Trump had disclosed highly classified information to Lavrov about a planned Islamic State operation, plunging the White House into another controversy just months into Trump's short tenure in office.