Nikki Haley said Trump’s meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin was an important step because “things start to move” once Trump meets with another leader. | AP Photo Haley: Trump told Putin 'we know you did it, and cut it out'

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, suggested Sunday that President Donald Trump told his Russian counterpart to “cut it out.”

In an interview Sunday with Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Haley said Trump’s meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin was an important step because “things start to move” once Trump meets with another leader.


“What he did was bring up right away the election meddling, and he did that for a reason,” Haley said, referring to Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign. “One, he wanted … to basically look him in the eye, let him know that: ‘Yes, we know you meddled in our elections. Yes, we know you did it, and cut it out.’”

Haley added that Putin “did exactly what we thought he would do” when he denied Moscow’s meddling. “And I think that is what it is. They’re gonna always have two different stories on this,” she said. “They’re gonna always have two different stances on this. But at the end of the day what was most important was for President Putin to hear from President Trump: ‘We know you did this. We didn’t like it. Don’t do it again.’”

In a separate interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Haley said North Korea’s recent test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile is “hugely dangerous” for the U.S. and its allies.

“We’ve got to put a stop to it,” she continued. “And so what we wanted to tell North Korea is, look, we have told you we are not looking for regime change. We are not looking for war. But don’t give us a reason to get involved in any of this.”

The United States, she said, will “push for a strong resolution against North Korea” in the U.N. Security Council.

“I think it will be very telling based on how other countries respond whether they want to hold Kim Jong Un’s hand through this process or whether they want to be on the side of so many countries who know that this is a dangerous person with the access to an ICBM,” Haley said. “So we're going to fight hard on this.”

Haley hinted last week that the U.S. might stop trading with some countries that are allowing, if not encouraging, trade with North Korea, seemingly a reference to China. Asked whether America would cease its trade relationship with Beijing, Haley said the U.S. is armed with many moves.

“Ammunition comes with multiple options, and it’s not always military,” she said. “Ammunition also comes with sanctions. Ammunition also comes with trade. We do a lot of trade with a lot of countries. If there is a country that we don’t think is looking out for our security and looking out for our confidence in that, then yes. That is one of the ammunition options we have on the table.”