Russia says Putin-Trump summit is still under preparation
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A senior White House official said earlier there were no plans for a Trump-Putin meeting "in the immediate future".
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW - Russia said on Oct 22 that it was still preparing for a potential summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, though no date had been set and that Mr Putin - like Mr Trump - did not want to waste his time.
Mr Trump said last week following a phone call with Mr Putin that he could meet him in Budapest
But Mr Trump said on Oct 21 he did not want to hold a meeting that would be "waste of time"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Oct 22 that dates for any summit "have yet to be determined, but before that, careful preparation is necessary - it takes time".
'Asked about Mr Trump's remarks about not wanting to waste time, Mr Peskov said: "No one wants to waste time, neither President Trump nor President Putin."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said nevertheless that preparations for a summit were continuing, and that he did not "see any major obstacles".
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the potential host, also said preparations for the summit were continuing.
Mr Trump has long said he aims to end the war in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest since World War II.
But since taking office he has yet to achieve a breakthrough, despite an overture to Russia which included a summit with Mr Putin in Alaska in August.
Russia controls more than 116,000sq km, or more than 19 per cent of Ukraine.
Ukraine and its European allies have called for an immediate ceasefire on current battle lines ahead of any peace talks, a position Mr Trump backed publicly on Oct 17 after meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Moscow has set conditions for a ceasefire and has called for Ukraine to cede more land.
Mr Putin's foreign minister, Mr Sergei Lavrov, said that Russia's conditions for peace had not changed since the Putin-Trump summit in Anchorage.
"The elements of our position are well known to everyone," the Kremlin's Mr Peskov said. "They are very clearly formulated by our president and everyone knows them well."
On Oct 20, a meeting set for later this week between Mr Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prepare for a Trump-Putin summit was postponed.
Reuters, citing unidentified sources, reported that Russia had reiterated its previous terms for reaching a peace deal with Ukraine in a private communiqué sent to the US over the weekend, known as a "non-paper".
Asked about the Reuters report, Mr Ryabkov said he could not confirm it. He added that Western media published rumours based on unidentified sources that distorted the truth. REUTERS
