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4 months ago
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Russia on Tuesday said that there was “no precise timeframe” for a summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on Ukraine, dousing hopes for a swift preparatory meeting to finalize the talks.
“No precise timeframe was initially set here,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including from AFP, at a briefing on Tuesday.
Asked if the summit could be postponed, Peskov said: “It’s impossible to postpone something that hasn’t been set in stone, … Preparation is needed, serious preparation.”
This followed a similar statement by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who told reporters, “It’s impossible to postpone something that was never scheduled.”
Ryabkov confirmed that Lavrov and Rubio spoke by phone on Monday to follow up on last week’s talks between Putin and Trump, which focused on steps toward a potential peace process in Ukraine.
CNN, citing a White House official, reported Tuesday that a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was “put on hold for the time being.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Rubio would lead initial meetings “next week” ahead of their summit in Budapest at a later date.
CNN, citing an anonymous source, reported that the pre-meeting was delayed due to divergent Russian and U.S. expectations about ending the war in Ukraine.
It said Rubio and Lavrov may speak again this week, but the U.S. diplomat is reportedly “not likely to recommend the Putin-Trump meeting move forward next week.”
The U.S. State Department described Monday’s call as a discussion of “next steps” and an opportunity for both sides to work toward a “durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war.”
The Kremlin called it a “constructive discussion” about “implementing the understandings” reached between Trump and Putin in Alaska in August.
Ryabkov said Moscow is continuing preparations for the summit. “We’re doing our homework,” he said, stressing that any such contact must be “not rushed.”
AFP contributed reporting.
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