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Preparations for Putin-Trump meeting at G20 underway — Kremlin

The G20 summit will take place in Buenos Aires on November 30-December 1

MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. The situation over the Kerch Strait doesn’t affect preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"This meeting is being prepared," he stated, answering a question whether the Kerch Strait incident may have an impact on the corresponding plans.

The Kremlin Spokesman added that the Russian President "also prepares for his forthcoming official visit to Argentina, scheduled for November 30, as well as for participation in the G20 summit and bilateral meetings that are set to be held on the sidelines of the summit, including with US President Trump.

The G20 summit will meet in Buenos Aires on November 30-December 1.

Peskov previously called the Sunday incident involving Ukrainian naval ships a very dangerous provocation.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on November 25 that the Ukrainian warships Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu had violated the Russian state border on Sunday morning and again attempted to carry out illegal maneuvers in Russia’s territorial waters later. The Ukrainian vessels ignored legitimate demands of the Coast Guard of the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet to immediately halt, and stop performing dangerous maneuvers. A chase involving some gunfire had been used in order to stop the Ukrainian ships, which were detained in the Russian territorial waters. Criminal proceedings are being initiated for violating the state border of the Russian Federation.

The Treaty on the Legal Status of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, signed in 2003, confirmed their status as the domestic waters of Russia and Ukraine. The parties agreed on the joint usage and protection of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait and introducing restrictions on vessels belonging to third countries.