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Both sides ‘equally need’ Putin-Trump talks: Kremlin aide
MOSCOW, Nov 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russia and the United States both need
this week’s planned meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, a
Kremlin aide said Wednesday as the US president threatened to cancel the
talks at the G20.
“The meeting is equally needed by both sides and important for the
development of the general situation in the world,” Putin’s foreign policy
advisor Yuri Ushakov said.
Trump has warned that Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian ships could scuttle the
talks. But Ushakov said he hoped Moscow would be informed of any changes
“through the usual channels,” rather than through media reports.
Trump and Putin are set to hold talks on Saturday during the summit in
Buenos Aires, the Kremlin advisor said.
They are scheduled to have a conversation one-on-one and a meeting with key
members of their delegation present.
The discussion topics are “entirely up to the leaders,” as is the length of
the meeting, the aide said.
The Kremlin “does not rule out” that they will discuss Sunday’s
confrontation at sea between Russia and Ukraine, Ushakov said, while the
conflict in Syria, and North Korea and Iran’s nuclear programmes, could also
be on the agenda.
The Kremlin also expects them to focus on strategic stability as Trump has
announced the US is pulling out of a key nuclear weapons treaty. Moscow wants
to avoid a “senseless arms race,” Ushakov said.
The planned talks are also likely to cover bilateral relations, with the
leaders to discuss “what can be done to bring bilateral relations out of the
current dead end and to start on a path towards normalisation,” he said.
Ahead of the meeting with Trump, Putin is scheduled to meet French
President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday,
Ushakov said.
On Saturday, Putin is also set to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudi and Russian leaders are to discuss the killing of Saudi
journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Ushakov said.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 2058 hrs