President Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit on July 7 in Hamburg. The last time Vladimir Putin won a presidential election in Russia was in March 2012, when he was serving as the country’s prime minister. As was the case in 2012, the Russian election was marked by problems, including ballot-stuffing, intimidation and coercion. “I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory,” Trump said. So, I think probably we will be seeing President Putin in the not-too-distant-future.”Update: It turns out, President Trump’s national security team specifically warned him not to congratulate Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Source: Washington Post March 20, 2018 18:09 UTC