FM: Russia ready to resume preparations for Putin-Trump summit

Russia is prepared to return to preparations for a proposed meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

According to Russian media, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists that Moscow is ready to discuss with US counterparts the resumption of preparatory work for the proposed Russia-US leaders’ summit.

Lavrov said, “We are also ready to discuss with our American colleagues the resumption of preparatory work for the proposed summit of the leaders of Russia and the United States.”

He added that Budapest remains the preferred location for the talks between Putin and Trump.

The minister also addressed reports that the US had allegedly refused to hold talks following the receipt of a Russian memorandum containing firm demands regarding Ukraine, calling such reports false.

“The purpose of this memorandum was to remind our American colleagues of what was discussed in Anchorage. Nothing beyond what was discussed in Anchorage — and which did not provoke any objection from the American interlocutors — was included in this unofficial document,” Lavrov said.

He noted that a follow-up phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the memorandum was received went positively and politely. The two sides confirmed progress based on the discussions between Putin and Trump in Alaska.

Lavrov also highlighted that Russia’s offer to adhere to limits under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) for another year is a unilateral “gesture of goodwill.”

“To ensure that the United States supports our approach, no negotiations or consultations are needed. The US simply needs to say, ‘Okay, we will also not increase the quantitative levels of the treaty on strategic weapons testing for a year,’” the Russian foreign minister said.

He emphasised that the situation regarding the treaty is transparent: quantitative parameters are known to both sides, and each side has information on the capabilities of the other.

By Tamilla Hasanova