Is a meeting in Vietnam between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on or off? On Thursday, it was not clear.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian news agencies that the two leaders would meet Friday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Danang. But U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cast doubt on that, saying it is not clear whether there is enough progress on important pending issues between the two countries to merit top-level face-to-face talks.
“When the two leaders meet, is there something sufficiently substantive?” Tillerson rhetorically asked in Beijing, as he accompanies Trump on his five-nation Asia trip. “No conclusion has been made on that. If we’re going to have a meeting, let’s make sure it’s a meaningful meeting.”
Tillerson said that behind the scenes the two countries are working on a “number of difficult areas” but that U.S. officials have not decided whether it’s the right time for Trump to meet with Putin.
Trump, as he flew to Asia last weekend, told reporters aboard Air Force One he expected to meet with Putin to ask for his help in reining in North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.
Tillerson said officials from the two countries are also discussing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, while Trump also said that Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election also remains on the table for discussion.