Moscow, Aug 12 (IANS) Moscow hopes that the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump could help normalise bilateral relations, local media reported Tuesday, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Ryabkov said that the Alaska summit could also help advance the resolution of specific issues, including the resumption of direct passenger flights between the two countries, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the Russian daily Izvestia.
“We hope that the forthcoming high-level meeting will give an impulse to the normalisation of bilateral relations, which will allow us to move forward on such issues as restoring air links,” Ryabkov said.
Trump said Monday that his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday would be a “feel-out meeting.” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov called the choice of venue “logical,” noting that the region is where the economic interests of both countries intersect.
Trump said that he will try to get some territory back for Ukraine during his meeting with Putin on Friday. Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said, “Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”
Trump said a future meeting could also involve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, or include both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
A White House official told reporters on Saturday that Trump remained open to a summit with both leaders.
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Sunday it was still possible that Zelensky could attend Friday’s meeting in Alaska.
“The decision is going to be made by President Trump,” Whitaker said. “There’s still time to make that decision.”
US President and his Russian counterpart are due to hold talks in Alaska at the end of the week. Trump claimed that he could know within two minutes of meeting Putin whether progress was possible.
Trump announced the meeting with Putin last Friday – the day of his self-imposed deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face more US sanctions.
In response to news of the Alaska summit, Zelensky said any agreements without input from Kyiv would amount to “dead decisions”.
–IANS
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