Moscow: No Official Changes Yet to Obama-Putin G20 Meeting
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the Kremlin has not received any official notice from the U.S. that would indicate that President Obama is planning to cancel a meeting with the Russian president before the G20 summit in September, RIA Novosti reported.
Reports that the meeting was in jeopardy arose after Russia granted NSA leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum last week. Some senior U.S. lawmakers have pressed Obama to cancel the bilateral meeting with President Putin, and NBC's "Meet the Press" reported on Sunday that the White House will do just that in coming days if the asylum matter remains unchanged, according to the Washington Times.
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that Obama was "evaluating the utility" of the summit.
If the meeting goes forward, the two presidents are expected to discuss missile defense and new bilateral strategic nuclear weapon cuts that Obama proposed in a June speech in Berlin.
