MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Questions about the possibility of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, should be addressed to Washington, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told International Affairs magazine. Extracts from the interview were published on the magazine’s website on Tuesday.

"Excuses for explaining why meetings have not taken place are always found easily. You remember the Kerch Strait incident and the statements that were made in that connection and the attempts to put forward preconditions for a full-fledged meeting. All questions on that score should be addressed to Washington. Apparently the US sticks to the previous viewpoint regarding the parameters that might make a contact possible."

"We have a certain schedule of international events in which the Russian president may participate and where the US president’s participation is possible. No more than that. These schedules may be projected against each other and speculations on that score made, but that would be irresponsible. All questions should be addressed to Washington. They are to make up their mind first that this sort of linkage and attempts to dictate conditions are counterproductive," Ryabkov said.