Speaking with the US network CBS in Scotland on Saturday as he wound up the UK leg of his Europe tour, US President Donald Trump said that he was not going into talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin with high expectations.
When CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor asked about his goals for the meeting, Trump responded, "I'll let you know after the meeting,” adding that "nothing bad" would come of the face-to-face talks.
Trump professed confidence in the meeting and pointed to previous encounters with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping as examples.
In the interview Trump told CBS that he had not thought about asking Putin to hand over the 12 Russians indicted for alleged interference in the US elections of 2016. But when pressed on the question, he said he might.
"Well, I might," the US president said. "I hadn't thought of that. But I certainly, I'll be asking about it. But again, this was during the Obama administration. They were doing whatever it was during the Obama administration," he added, echoing previous tweets on the matter.
Russia has no extradition treaty with the United States, however.
On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the indictments, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s alleged efforts to interfere in the general election.
