MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States has confirmed that a meeting in Argentina between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would go ahead on Saturday at a G20 summit, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The meeting was thrown into doubt on Tuesday when Trump said he might cancel it after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels at the weekend. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this week’s Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!” Trump tweeted after departing for the G20 summit.

Trump’s tweet was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was “a very good time to have the meeting.”

But Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow’s role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia’s possible interference in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The Latest on President Donald Trump at the Group of 20 summit (all times local):

President Donald Trump is meeting Argentine President Mauricio Macri as he kicks off two days of diplomacy at the G-20 meeting.

The leaders greeted each other warmly Friday as the annual meeting of leaders from rich and developing nations opened in Buenos Aires. Trump spoke about his longtime personal friendship with Macri and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

Macri is hosting his counterparts as he struggles with a raft of domestic issues, including trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso.

Trump and Macri enjoy a personal relationship dating back to their days as businessman.

Macri visited the White House soon after Trump took office in 2017.

President Donald Trump is blasting the investigation in which his former lawyer pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he pursued for Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Michael Cohen says he lied to be consistent with Trump's "political messaging." Trump says Cohen is lying now.

In a tweet Friday from Argentina, Trump recalled "happily living" his life as a developer before running for president after seeing the "Country going in the wrong direction."

Trump says "Against all odds" he decided to run for president and continue to run his business, which he calls "very legal & very cool." He says he "talked about it on the campaign trail."

Trump tweets he "Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch Hunt!"

President Trump kicks off two days of diplomacy at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina on Friday after his abrupt decision to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin overshadowed the proceedings before they even started.

Trump barreled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was canceling on Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels. His agenda Friday is expected to include meetings with world leaders, the signing of a revamped trade deal with Canada and Mexico, as well as a number of group activities for the gathering of rich and developing nations.

Coming into this G-20, Trump faces a series of diplomatic challenges — most notably whether he can strike an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) to ease trade tensions.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this week's Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted after departing for the G20 summit.

Trump's tweet was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was "a very good time to have the meeting."

But Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow's role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia's possible interference in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> President Donald Trump canceled his planned bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was slated to take place Saturday during the G-20 Summit in Argentina.

Trump indicated that the move was in response to the Russia’s seizing three Ukrainian ships and imprisoning 24 sailors in the Sea of Azoz, near the Crimean Peninsula, over the weekend.

He tweeted news of the cancellation from onboard Air Force One on his way to Buenos Aires.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin,” Trump wrote.

He added, “I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!”

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Prior to leaving for his trip, Trump sounded more positive that the meeting with Putin would take place during an exchange with reporters at the White House.

“I probably will meet with President Putin,” he said. “We haven’t terminated the meeting. I was thinking about it, but we haven’t. They’d like to have it. I think it’s a very good time to have the meeting.”

However, Trump offered the caveat, “I’m getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that, and that will determine what I’m going to be doing.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters traveling with the president that Trump’s decision was made after conferring with Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

Sanders added that Russia had been made aware of the decision.

“A Kremlin spokesperson told a Russian state media outlet that if the meeting was off, Putin would have several hours freed up for other important meetings,” USA Today reported.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were looking to Trump to take a much tougher stance toward Putin than he did during his Helsinki Summit with the Russian leader in July.

“It’s just about standing up for what we believe in because I think when you don’t stand up to Russia, or other countries that would take that kind of aggressive activity, they take from it that it’s somehow acceptable,” Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told USA Today.

The top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, feels the cancellation means a lost opportunity.

“I would have liked him to meet Putin and challenge Putin, to find his spine as it relates to Putin’s violation of the international order,” Menendez told CNN. “What I wouldn’t want to see is another Helsinki performance. This was (Trump’s) opportunity to redeem himself…and instead he’s abdicating it.”

CNBC reported that Bolton said on Tuesday that Trump and Putin had planned to continue discussions begun in Helsinki on issues concerning arms control and other security issues.

Trump’s decision comes the same day special counsel Robert Mueller entered into a new plea agreement with former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about a Moscow building project the Trump Organization was considering in early 2016.

Mueller made news two days before Trump was slated to meet with Putin in July by announcing the indictments of 12 Russian agents for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election.

The effect, then as now, was to raise the profile of the Russia investigation just as Trump was preparing to meet with the Russian leader.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> President Donald Trump canceled his planned bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was slated to take place Saturday during the G-20 Summit in Argentina.

Trump indicated that the move was in response to the Russia’s seizing three Ukrainian ships and imprisoning 24 sailors in the Sea of Azoz, near the Crimean Peninsula, over the weekend.

He tweeted news of the cancellation from onboard Air Force One on his way to Buenos Aires.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin,” Trump wrote.

He added, “I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!”

Prior to leaving for his trip, Trump sounded more positive that the meeting with Putin would take place during an exchange with reporters at the White House.

“I probably will meet with President Putin,” he said. “We haven’t terminated the meeting. I was thinking about it, but we haven’t. They’d like to have it. I think it’s a very good time to have the meeting.”

However, Trump offered the caveat, “I’m getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that, and that will determine what I’m going to be doing.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters traveling with the president that Trump’s decision was made after conferring with Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

Sanders added that Russia had been made aware of the decision.

“A Kremlin spokesperson told a Russian state media outlet that if the meeting was off, Putin would have several hours freed up for other important meetings,” USA Today reported.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were looking to Trump to take a much tougher stance toward Putin than he did during his Helsinki Summit with the Russian leader in July.

“It’s just about standing up for what we believe in because I think when you don’t stand up to Russia, or other countries that would take that kind of aggressive activity, they take from it that it’s somehow acceptable,” Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told USA Today.

The top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, feels the cancellation means a lost opportunity.

“I would have liked him to meet Putin and challenge Putin, to find his spine as it relates to Putin’s violation of the international order,” Menendez told CNN. “What I wouldn’t want to see is another Helsinki performance. This was (Trump’s) opportunity to redeem himself…and instead he’s abdicating it.”

CNBC reported that Bolton said on Tuesday that Trump and Putin had planned to continue discussions begun in Helsinki on issues concerning arms control and other security issues.

Trump’s decision comes the same day special counsel Robert Mueller entered into a new plea agreement with former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about a Moscow building project the Trump Organization was considering in early 2016.

Mueller made news two days before Trump was slated to meet with Putin in July by announcing the indictments of 12 Russian agents for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election.

The effect, then as now, was to raise the profile of the Russia investigation just as Trump was preparing to meet with the Russian leader.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> The Kremlin said Thursday that Washington confirmed a one-on-one meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, but Trump later announced that he was canceling the meeting.

In a tweet from Air Force One en route to the summit in Buenos Aires, Trump blamed the cancellation on Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships and sailors over the weekend.

Trump had previously cast the Buenos Aires sit-down into doubt, telling The Washington Post he might cancel seeing Putin after Russia's naval action sparked global condemnation and a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighbors. But he seemed to reverse course as he left the White House on Thursday, telling reporters that the meeting with Putin was still on.

Shortly afterward, however, Trump tweeted: "Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!"

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow: "We are expecting the two presidents to speak briefly at first, but everything is left to the discretion of the heads of state."

As he left the White House on Thursday en route to Argentina, Trump said: "I probably will be meeting with President Putin. We haven't terminated that meeting." He added that he would be getting a "finalized report" on Ukraine while on the plane.

Peskov said the agenda for the meeting scheduled for Saturday between Putin and Trump included strategic security, bilateral relations, disarmament and regional conflicts. "This is in the interests of not only our two countries, but the world at large," he said.

He said American and Russian delegations would also convene for talks that may last an hour. It was not immediately clear whether those talks were still on.

The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has continued to deepen. Kiev is hoping Trump will push Putin on the confrontation, which began Sunday when Russia fired on Ukrainian ships trying to enter the Kerch Strait, a crucial waterway separating the Black and Azov seas.

But while Russia's maritime maneuvers have been sharply criticized by senior U.S. and Western officials, Trump has been more reticent on the issue. He stopped short of condemning Russia, instead saying, "I don't like that aggression."

Limited martial law in Ukraine is in place for 30 days, and Russia said Wednesday it was strengthening air defense and early warning radar systems on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine four years ago.

The Kremlin also scoffed at an appeal by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for NATO to reinforce the Azov Sea with naval ships, saying this was yet another provocation by Kiev designed to further escalate the situation.

Kiev is banking on its Western allies to provide military support to contain Russia, which it says is preparing to invade its territory by land. The latest crisis threatens to significantly worsen the conflict. Fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces has resulted in the deaths of 10,300 people.

There have been widespread calls for Russia to immediately release 24 Ukrainian sailors it captured, and some European leaders have called for fresh sanctions against Russia.

But Russia, for the most part, has shrugged off Western pressure. Russia maintains that the crisis was created by Poroshenko for political gain. The deeply unpopular leader could seek reelection in a vote in March.

The Washington Post's Natalia Abbakumova in Moscow and John Wagner and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.

First published in The Washington Post </s> US President Donald Trump has said he may cancel a long-awaited summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after a confrontation at sea between Russia and Ukraine led Kiev to warn of the threat of “full-scale war”.

Trump is scheduled to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of this week but warned it would depend on the results of a report being prepared by his national security advisers about Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian ships.

“Maybe I won’t have the meeting. Maybe I won’t even have the meeting,” he told the Washington Post on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier warned that the standoff could herald more drastic developments as tensions escalate between the ex-Soviet neighbours.

“I don’t want anyone to think this is fun and games. Ukraine is under threat of full-scale war with Russia,” Poroshenko said.

The number of Russian units deployed along the Ukraine-Russian border has “grown dramatically” while the number of Russian tanks has tripled, Poroshenko said, citing intelligence reports but giving no precise timescale for the buildup.

He spoke after Russian forces seized three of Kiev’s ships off the coast of Crimea on Sunday and captured 24 Ukrainian sailors.

On Tuesday, a court in Simferopol, the main city in Russian-annexed Crimea, ordered 12 of the sailors to be held in pre-trial detention for two months. Three hospitalised sailors were also formally detained for two months. The rest are to appear in court on Wednesday.

The move stoked already high tensions between Moscow and Kiev, as Russia continues to accuse the sailors of crossing illegally into Russian waters and of ignoring warnings from its border guards. </s> President Trump speaks during an interview with Washington Post reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump threatened Tuesday to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin at a global summit later this week because of Russia’s maritime clash with Ukraine, saying, “I don’t like that aggression.”

Russia captured three Ukrainian naval ships and their crews in the Black Sea on Sunday, an act that drew condemnation from the West and led to Ukraine preparing to impose martial law in 10 of the country’s 27 regions.

Asked during an interview Monday with The Washington Post whether he thinks Putin was within his rights to seize the Ukrainian ships, Trump said he was considering canceling his bilateral meeting with Putin scheduled for later this week.

“I am getting a report on that tonight and that will determine what happens at the meeting,” Trump said. “I’m getting a full report on that tonight. That will be very determinative. Maybe I won’t have the meeting. Maybe I won’t even have the meeting. We’re going to see, depending on what comes out tonight.”

The session is planned on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday, told reporters that the Trump-Putin meeting was still on.



National security adviser John Bolton speaks during a White House press briefing Tuesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

“The meeting has been finalized,” Peskov said. “We have no other information from our U.S. counterparts.”

Asked whether Russia’s aggression is a cause for concern to the American people, Trump said it is.

“I don’t like that aggression,” Trump said. “I don’t want that aggression at all. Absolutely. And by the way, Europe shouldn’t like that aggression. And Germany shouldn’t like that aggression.”

Trump went on to criticize Germany for not spending enough on its defenses as part of NATO.

“They’re absolutely not doing enough,” Trump said. “Germany. Absolutely not! Many of those countries are not doing enough toward NATO. They should be spending much more money.”



Russian President Vladimir Putin hands U.S. President Trump a World Cup soccer ball during a news conference on July 16 in Helsinki. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

The Trump administration has also been critical of Germany for a planned gas pipeline deal with Russia.

White House national security adviser John Bolton said Tuesday that Trump’s meeting with Putin would cover arms control and “security issues,” but he did not say whether Trump planned to challenge Putin over the naval incident. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke for the administration when she condemned the incident Monday, Bolton said.

The Russian action appears to fit a pattern in which the Kremlin takes provocative action and then gauges international reaction before moving further. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine four years ago after a series of smaller steps that the West called provocations.

Trump has been under pressure to back out of the Putin meeting so as not to appear to endorse the latest action, which Haley had called unacceptable aggression.

James Jay Carafano, a conservative foreign policy adviser at the Heritage Foundation with close ties to the White House, was among those calling Monday for Trump to cancel the session in protest.

The meeting, if it happens, would come on the heels of Trump’s decision not to impose further punishment on Saudi Arabia or directly hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to account for the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month.

Trump did not rule out a meeting with the crown prince at the Argentina session, although White House officials said there is nothing scheduled.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he may cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during this week's 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit because of Russia's maritime clash with Ukraine.