OREANDA-NEWSWashington hasn't sent clear signals to Moscow about the possibility and format of the meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the margins of the G20 summit in Osaka yet. If they aren't there, the talks of the leaders can take place "on their feet", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Russian media.

According to him, the Russian side has not yet “specified the modalities” of such a contact. “In principle, the impression is that the American side itself hasn't decided on its preferred format for itself yet, whether it should be done with the participation of members of delegations, on what day, and so on”, he explained. Ryabkov added that Moscow is guided by the fact that it is from the American side that the corresponding impulses should follow. He also didn't rule out that the contact can take place only “on the feet”, but there is no “concrete” on the issue.

Earlier, Assistant to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov said that the idea of ​​meeting Putin and Trump in Osaka is hanging in the air, but hasn't been specified yet. A spokesman for the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov, also said that the possibility of meeting at the G20 summit remains. In mid-May, Donald Trump announced his intention to meet in Japan with Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Sources of Russian media reported that Washington proposed the Russian side to organize a meeting between Putin and Trump.

The last full meeting of the two leaders was held in July 2018 in Helsinki. Their talks were also planned to be held at the G20 summit in Argentina at the end of November last year, but Trump canceled the conversation due to the detention of Ukrainian sailors. Later, Putin said that he was able to talk with his American counterpart and discuss the incident in the Black Sea. The G20 Summit will be held in Osaka from 28 to 29 June.