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US State Department declines to identify Trump-Putin meeting as Ukraine talks

When asked whether the US was prepared to apply pressure on Russia, US State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce noted that american leader "knows that he has many tools in his tool chest"

WASHINGTON, August 13. /TASS/. Speaking at a press briefing, US State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that Washington does not consider the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump to be negotiations on Ukraine.

"I'll remind you also that the President is not calling this negotiation. He is not the one that asked for it [the meeting]," she said in response to a related question. "His remarks were that this is to see what's happening, see what's possible. So the negotiation, I think, is certainly not the right word," Bruce stressed.

When asked whether the US was prepared to apply pressure on Russia, the spokeswoman noted that Trump "knows that he has many tools in his tool chest." "I don't know what his approach will be," Bruce added.

On August 8, Trump announced that he expected to meet with the Russian president in Alaska on August 15. Later, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov confirmed the plan, saying the leaders would focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

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Ukraine Vladimir Putin United States Donald Trump

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