Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Friday that “no policy changes” were enacted at President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNBC reported.
White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton spoke with Mattis “immediately” after the closed-door meeting, according to CNBC.
The closed-door one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin took place July 16 in Helsinki, Finland.
Mattis confirmed to reporters on Friday that he is considering a meeting with Sergey Shoygu, the Russian defense minister.
The defense secretary also addressed election interference in comments to reporters Friday, CNBC reported.
“Rest assured there are actions under way… to protect our elections or to expose any external… efforts to influence the American public,” Mattis said.
The White House expects to host Putin for a summit in Washington next year, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday.
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