The two leaders were seen chatting as reporters were allowed in briefly for the start of the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima. They stood off to the side together momentarily with aides close by before shaking hands and then taking their seats around a table.
It was unclear what the two were discussing, and their words weren't audible to journalists present. The White House did not immediately provide details about the content of their conversation.
The short interaction came amid intense speculation and concern about whether Trump's election might herald a more conciliatory US approach to Russia. Under Obama, the US has enacted severe sanctions on Russia over its aggressive behavior in Ukraine and has sought unsuccessfully to persuade Moscow to stop intervening in Syria's civil war to help prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Trump and Putin have already signaled they may pursue a less antagonistic relationship after Trump takes office in January. In a phone call shortly after Trump was elected, Putin congratulated him and expressed readiness for a ``partner-like dialogue,'' the Kremlin said.
In the run-up to the election, the U.S. also accused Russia of trying to interfere in the election, including by hacking into Democratic Party email systems. Obama has raised concerns directly to Putin ahead of the election about Russian hacking, and the U.S. also registered complaints through a hotline set up to avert accidental nuclear war.
Throughout the campaign, the Kremlin insisted that it had no favorites and rejected the claims of interference in the U.S. election.
The meeting came as Obama prepared for planned separate talks with the leaders of Australia and Canada before wrapping up the final foreign trip of his presidency.
Both countries helped negotiate a multinational trade agreement with the US and nine other Pacific Rim countries. But Congress is unlikely to ratify the deal, dealing a blow to Obama's once high hopes of having the agreement become part of his presidential legacy.
Trump says trade deals can hurt US workers, and he opposes the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Besides participating in meetings Sunday with other world leaders attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Forum taking place in Peru's capital, Obama was sitting down first with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia, a U.S. ally and partner in the trans-Pacific trade deal.
The president also planned to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose nation is another TPP partner.
Before boarding Air Force One for the flight to Washington, Obama was to answer questions from the journalists who accompanied him to Greece, Germany and Peru.
Trump's election overshadowed every stop on Obama's trip. The president went to once unimaginable lengths to defend the real-estate mogul and reality TV star who he had repeatedly denounced during the campaign as 'temperamentally unfit' and 'uniquely unqualified' to be president.
"I think it will be important for everybody around the world to not make immediate judgments, but give this new president-elect a chance to put their team together, to examine the issues, to determine what their policies will be," Obama said in response to a question about Trump during a forum here Saturday with some of Latin America's future leaders.
"As I've always said, how you campaign isn't always the same as how you govern," he added.
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