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Kremlin has no official information on Putin-Trump meeting cancellation

On November 29, Donald Trump said he decided to cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin

© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. The Kremlin has not received any official information on the cancellation of the scheduled meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Argentina on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Thursday. He stressed that Putin would still participate in the G20 summit.

"We are flying to Argentina. So far, we have only seen the tweet and the media [on Trump cancelling the meeting with Putin]. We have no official information," the Kremlin spokesman noted.

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Trump cancels G20 meeting with Putin

President Putin will get additional time for useful meetings with colleagues at the G20 summit if the earlier scheduled talks with the US president have been indeed canceled, Peskov said.

"If this is so [Trump has canceled a meeting with Putin], the president [of Russia] will have a couple of additional hours on the program for useful meetings on the sidelines of the summit," the spokesman told TASS.

US President Donald Trump decided to cancel the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in wake of the incident in the Kerch Strait, Trump stated on his Twitter on Thursday.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump wrote.

This, in fact, contravenes Trump’s statements about an hour earlier, when the US president said to reporters "I think it is a very good time to have this meeting". He also said he would come to the final decision after receiving a final report from his aides on national security and foreign policy concerning the Kerch Strait incident.

Kerch Strait incident

On November 25, three Ukrainian warships, en route from Odessa to Mariupol, illegally crossed Russia’s state border, entered Russia’s territorial waters and started performing dangerous maneuvers.

Despite the repeated warnings and demands to stop, the Ukrainian vessels continued their way, forcing Russia to use weapons. All three Ukrainian ships were detained in the Black Sea. Three Ukrainian servicemen were wounded and received medical assistance. Their lives are currently not under threat. A criminal case has been launched over the violation of Russia’s state border. Moscow slammed the incident as a provocation.

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