Mexican President Peña Nieto And Trump Did Not Discuss Border Wall, Foreign Minister Says

Mexico's Foreign Minister denied President Peña Nieto and President Donald Trump spoke about Mexico paying for a border wall between the two nations at the G2 summit, according to CNN Friday.

Trump made the claim to a reporter on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg Germany. As Peña Nieto sat silently next to him, Trump said that he expected Mexico to pay for the border wall.

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Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said that neither Nieto nor he heard the comment Trump made, describing the bilateral meeting between as “friendly and respectful.” Both Peña Nieto’s tweets and a White House readout of the meeting only mentioned topics such as migration, security and NAFTA. They also discussed illegal migration and the Venezuelan crisis.

In January 2017, Peña Nieto canceled a meeting scheduled with Trump when Trump said the Mexican president should not come if he was not willing to discuss the wall.

“Mexico does not believe in walls. I’ve said time and again; Mexico will not pay for any wall,” Peña Nieto said in a video statement posted to Twitter.

Peña Nieto has previously been criticized for his silence regarding Trump’s claims that Mexico will pay for a border wall. Trump traveled to Mexico City during his campaign in August 2016 and while in the presidential palace, he spoke publicly about his plans to build the border wall. The Mexican president was criticized by many for not denying Trump’s allegations. After the incident, the Mexican government said that the topic of the wall would not be discussed in public, an agreement Trump broke today by mentioning the wall on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Jorge Ramos, a Mexican reporter Trump threw out of a press conference during his campaign, tweeted at Peña Nieto after Friday’s incident.

“Trump says again that Mexico will pay for the wall,” he said. “When will [Peña Nieto] dare to say to his face and in public that Mexico will not pay?”

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During his presidential campaign, Trump spoke repeatedly about building a border wall between the United States and Mexico. In his opinion, a border wall would reduce drug trafficking and illegal immigration rates. This was one of the cornerstones of his campaign and garnered enthusiasm among his supporters. Support for the wall has wavered since Trump entered office, with many questioning where to acquire funds to pay for the wall.

When asked if the wall would be built in his first term, Trump responded, “Yeah sure, we have plenty of time.”