Donald Trump said Saturday that during a brief conversation with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an economic summit, the Russian president flatly denied meddling in the 2016 election that brought Trump to the White House.

'He said he didn't meddle. He said he didn't meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times,' Trump said. 'I just asked him again.'

'He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did.'

President Donald Trump asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday whether he meddled in the 2016 American presidential election, he said, and Putin flatly denied it

'I didn't meddle': Trump said that Putin insisted he did not interfere in the US election. The pair are pictured at a summit in Danang

Trump called questions about his campaign's alleged collusion with Moscow an 'artificial Democratic hit job' that 'gets in the way' of international diplomacy and serves as a 'artificial barrier' to cooperation 'put into place by the Democrats.'

He said 'people will die because of it' as tense U.S.-Russia relations make it more difficult to cajole Putin into helping derail North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions.

'I call it the "artificial Democrat barrier." It gets in the way, which is a shame,' he said.

The presidents had 'two or three very short conversations' during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Hanoi.

Trump hinted that he thinks Putin was being sincere when he 'very strongly' denied the accusation.

'Every time he sees me he says, "I didn't do that," and I believe, I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it,' the president said. 'But he says, "I didn't do that." I think he's very insulted by it, if you want to know the truth.

'Don't forget, all he said is he never did that, he didn't do that. I think he's very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country,' Trump added.

General Michael Hayden, CIA director to Republican George W. Bush, said later on Twitter that he had received a statement from the nation's top intelligence agency reaffirming its position that the election interference last year was the work of the Kremlin.

'The Dir stands by and has always stood by the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment entitled: Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections. The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed,' the statement said, according to Hayden, a previous head of the NSA in addition to the CIA.

Trump called questions about his campaign's alleged collusion with Moscow a 'Democratic hit-job'

Trump said Saturday as reporters pressed him to repeat what he told, Putin, 'I can't stand there and argue with him.'

'I'd rather have him get out of Syria, to be honest with you. I'd rather have him, you know, work with him on the Ukraine [rather] than arguing about whether or not – because that whole thing was set up by the Democrats.'

The president said continually pressing Putin on the question of election interference – a concept he called 'a Democratic-inspired thing' – is harming U.S.-Russia relations at a time when Moscow's help is needed to de-fang Kim Jong-un.

'If we had a relationship with Russia – North Korea, which is our single biggest problem right now, North Korea – it would be helped a lot,' he said.

'President Putin could be tremendously helpful with North Korea,' Trump added.

Trump said the North Korea nuclear crisis affects 'millions and millions of lives. This isn't baby stuff. This is the real deal. And if Russia helped us, in addition to China, that problem would go away a lot faster.'

(Front L-R) China's President Xi Jinping, Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, (back L-R) Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald J. Trump

Ultimately, he insisted that 'there was no collusion' between his aides and Russians during the presidential campaign. 'Everybody knows there was no collusion.'

It's not the first time Trump has asked Putin point-blank whether he plotted to interfere with the U.S. election.

In July, on the way to Paris for a Bastille Day visit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump recounted a similar meeting with Putin just days earlier during the G20 meetings in Hamburg, Germany.

'I said to him, "Were you involved with the meddling in the election?" He said, "Absolutely not. I was not involved",' Trump recalled then. 'He was very strong on it.'

'I then said to him again, in a totally different way, "Were you involved with the meddling?" He said, "I was not – absolutely not".'

Trump said at the time that if Russia was involved, they would also be adept at covering their tracks.

'But we can't let that happen,' he added then. 'And I mean, whether it's Russia or anybody else, we can't let there be even a scintilla of doubt when it comes to an election.'

'And I'm not saying it wasn't Russia,' Trump continued. 'What I'm saying is that we have to protect ourselves no matter who it is. You know, China is very good at this. I hate to say it, North Korea is very good at this.'

This is not the first time Trump has asked Putin (both pictured) point-blank whether he plotted to interfere with the U.S. election

Trump said Saturday that 'it's a shame' that allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia in the election are being fabricated.

'Something like that can destroy a very important potential relationship between two countries that are very important countries. Russia could really help us,' he said.

'And the Democrats wanted to have a good relationship with Russia, but they couldn't do it because they didn't have the talent to do it. They didn't have the chemistry to do it. They didn't have what it takes to do it. You know, there is a talent to that.'

If it weren't for the election meddling controversy, Trump said he and Putin 'would have a great relationship, and that would be great for both countries.

'And it would take a lot of the danger out because we're really, you know, this is a dangerous time. This isn't small stuff.

'And having a great relationship, or even a good relationship, with the President of Russia -- Hillary tried it, and she failed. Nobody mentions that,' he said, bringing up his former political opponent, Hillary Clinton, once the secretary of state. 'They act like, you know -- it's so terrible. She did that reset button; it was a joke. But she tried and she failed.'