Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The long-awaited talks between Putin and his US counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 summit were cancelled by Donald Trump over Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian naval vessels that illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. When commenting on the incident, Putin called it a provocation ahead of the Ukrainian presidential election.
Putin-Trump Meeting
During the press conference Putin said that he had an on-the-go meeting with Trump and answered his questions related to Kerch Strait incident briefly. He noted that Trump has own position on the incident — different from Russian one and added that he informed the US leader about Russian point of view.
Putin also noted that he hopes that meeting with Trump to be held when American side is ready. He added that he regrets missing out on the full-fledged meeting with Trump which, he said, is long overdue. Putin said that he sets no preconditions for potential meeting with Trump.
“It’s a pity we could not have a full-fledged meeting because I believe it is long overdue. I’m talking about issues of strategic stability in the light of the president’s announcement that he plans to pull the US from the INF treaty,” Putin told reporters.
On London’s Terrorism Comments
Russian President also commented on the recent comments by the United Kingdom’s government, saying that London compares Russia to a terrorist organisation to “score points” among UK voters.
“I think that when such comparisons are made and Russia is mixed up with terrorists, this behavior should rest on the conscience of those who make them… As for terrorism, Russia is probably the main contributor to the fight against terror. Such remarks usually aim to show toughness of a certain politician and to score points with the population of one’s own country,” Putin told reporters in Buenos Aires.
He noted that he hopes that Moscow and London will be able to set on the path of positive development of bilateral relations as soon as possible.
Kerch Strait Incident
Speaking on the topic of Kerch Strait incident, the President of Russian Federation said that Russia plans to present the evidence of Kiev’s provocative actions in Black Sea down in form of legal documents. He added that the exchange of the detained in the incident Ukrainian sailors was not discussed, as Ukraine had not suggested i,t and added that the investigation was under way.
“We have outlined our position and the very timeline of events. You can’t argue against it. How can you argue when it is written in the very ship logs that these ships were on a mission to slip into our territorial waters and through the Kerch Strait… It is a planned provocation. This is evident from the documents and sailors’ testimony. There’s nothing to argue about,” he told reporters on the G20 sidelines.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
