Why did Russia deny reports that Putin was about to meet with Trump?

The Kremlin's statement on January 15th asserted that there had been no discussions between Russia and the US on this issue. US President-elect Donald Trump also dismissed it as "fake news."

US President-elect Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) have no plans to meet. Photo: Reuters

Earlier, the Sunday Times reported on January 1 that the Russian and American leaders would meet in Iceland.5/1. The article states that Trump and his associates informed British officials that they wanted to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first foreign trip.

The choice of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, made people somewhat believe that the two would actually meet, as it is a historical location that witnessed many important meetings between leaders of the Soviet Union (the predecessor of Russia) and the United States three decades ago. To "gain complete trust," the newspaper even quoted Sean Spicer, the future press secretary appointed by Trump, to confirm the meeting.

Immediately, Mr. Spicer denied the claim on his personal Twitter account, asserting that the information was "100% false." From the Kremlin, President Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed to the RIA Novosti news agency that the two sides had not discussed this intention.

According to RT, the reason is believed to be that a source close to the Russian Embassy in the UK revealed to the British newspaper that Moscow would agree to a summit meeting with Washington, although it did not confirm whether the two sides had planned such a meeting.

An unnamed Russian diplomat working at the Russian Embassy in the UK emphasized that this is clearly "an attempt by the British to influence Trump's presidency. They will continue to do this to the very end."

Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson confirmed that his country had not received any requests for assistance from Russia or the United States, but emphasized that Reykjavik was ready to lend a hand in the meeting between Trump and Putin if approached. Iceland also expressed hope that these efforts would contribute positively to improving Russia-US relations, as had been seen between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1986.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper