U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his second conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit was an exchange of "pleasantries" that lasted 15 minutes.

Speaking to the New York Times on Wednesday, Trump said that his wife, Melania, was seated next to Putin at the other end of a table at a couples-only social dinner during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. When the meal was going toward dessert, he approached Melania to "say hello" and then exchanged "pleasantries" with Putin.

"It was not a long conversation, but it was, you know, could be 15 minutes," said Trump, adding that he and Putin talked about the issue of adoptions between Russia and U.S.

U.S. adoptions of Russian orphans were banned by Russia in retaliation for U.S. human rights sanctions against Russia.

The White House had not confirm the previously undisclosed conversation between Trump and Putin until Tuesday after multiple U.S. media reports cited sources as saying that the private conversation lasted for about an hour and was only attended by Putin's translator.

Trump and Putin met face-to-face for the first time on July 7 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg.