US president Donald Trump has suggested he may cancel his planned sit-down with Vladimir Putin over Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian naval ships last weekend.
By Zeke Miller, Associated Press
November 28 2018 3:20 AM
US president Donald Trump has suggested he may cancel his planned sit-down with Vladimir Putin over Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian naval ships last weekend.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Mr Trump said he would be receiving a “full report” from his national security team on Russia’s recent actions in eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea. He said he would decide on a course after that.
“Maybe I won’t have the meeting,” he said. “Maybe I won’t even have the meeting.”
He added: “I don’t like that aggression. I don’t want that aggression at all.”
The comments were Mr Trump’s strongest to date in condemnation of Russia’s recent actions in Ukraine, where tensions are flaring.
But White House aides were still planning for the Putin meeting after Mr Trump’s comments.
The meeting between the two presidents is set to be just one of several high-profile foreign policy engagements for the US leader on a whirlwind two-day visit to Argentina.
Mr Trump is also set meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping over dinner this weekend, in what may be a pivotal session in determining if and how the ongoing trade dispute between their two countries could be resolved.
On Tuesday, the White House warned Mr Xi against trying to wait out Mr Trump in the ongoing talks, suggesting the Chinese economy was not as resilient to a trade war as would be the US.
