Escalating tensions do not affect Trump - Putin meeting
The White House has said preparations for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not be affected by the sweeping sanctions Washington imposed on Russian officials and businessmen on April 6.
 |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) discusses with US President Donald Trump (right) on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in the US on the same day affirmed that the new series of US sanctions against officials and businessmen of this country is "targeted at the Russian people", and called those measures "a new blow to Russia-US relations".
Last week, the Washington administration said it approved plans to hold a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the White House.
On April 2, the Kremlin also announced that Mr. Trump had extended an invitation to Mr. Putin during that phone call. According to foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov, during the phone call between the two leaders, “Mr. Trump proposed to hold the first meeting at the White House in Washington,” calling it “a rather interesting and positive idea.”
However, the two sides have yet to have any concrete discussions about the meeting and bilateral relations have subsequently been strained with diplomats from both sides being expelled.
Mr. Ushakov hopes that tensions over the diplomats' expulsions will not affect discussions about that summit, and that the two countries can return to serious and constructive dialogue.
Observers say if the meeting takes place, it will be the first time President Putin has attended a closed-door meeting in the Oval Office since he met President George W. Bush at the White House in 2005.
