Trump says he will only meet with Putin after Ukraine deal, presses China

247 - US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (25) that he will only meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin if there is a prior understanding for an agreement to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. The information is from the Sputnik agency. 

“We need to know that we’re going to reach an agreement. I’m not going to waste my time. I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin,” Trump told reporters.

On October 16, Putin and Trump held their eighth phone conversation since the beginning of the year. After the call, which lasted about two and a half hours, Kremlin advisor Yury Ushakov reported that Moscow and Washington would immediately begin preparations for a new meeting between the two leaders, scheduled to take place in Budapest.

According to Ushakov, Trump himself proposed the Hungarian capital as the venue for the meeting, and the Russian president supported the idea. However, on October 22, the US announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, which included measures against the oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as their subsidiaries.

Trump also announced that he had canceled his meeting with Putin in Budapest, but that he intended to meet with him in the future.

In turn, Putin stated on Thursday (23) that the new US sanctions are a hostile act that does not contribute to strengthening relations between Moscow and Washington, adding that the Russian energy sector remains resilient.

"Aid from China"

Earlier, Trump stated that he hopes to count on China's help in negotiations with Russia.

“I would love for China to help us with Russia. We’ve imposed very strong sanctions on Russia. I think those sanctions are, you know, very tough, very powerful. But I would like to see China help us,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, en route to Asia, according to a recording released by the White House.

The US president stated that he plans to discuss the Ukraine agreement during his next meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump also declared that he believes the sanctions imposed on Russia will have an effect. “He [President Putin] is saying they won’t have that much of an impact. I don’t know. That’s what he says. But I don’t think he’s right about that. We’ll see what happens. I think he’d like it to end soon,” Trump commented.

Later on Saturday, Trump said he might discuss reducing purchases of Russian oil during his next meeting with President Xi. "I can discuss that... You probably saw today that China is substantially reducing its purchases of Russian oil," Trump told reporters.

Meeting "postponed"

Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's special envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), stated that the summit between the presidents will take place, but at a later date.

"The meeting between President Putin and President Trump will happen, but probably at a later date," Dmitriev said in an interview with CNN.

The envoy explained that the meeting was postponed, not canceled. "It needs to be well prepared by our diplomats," Dmitriev added.

Attacks

Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday that two people were killed and 13 others wounded in Kyiv after Russian missiles and drones struck locations in Ukraine overnight, according to Reuters. 

The attack in Kyiv caused several fires and damaged residential infrastructure, including a kindergarten, according to city officials.

For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian army carried out a group attack on Friday night against Ukrainian defense industry companies and energy facilities that support their operations, in response to Kiev's attacks on civilian targets in Russia. 

Russian forces also struck a launcher and a reloading vehicle for the Neptun coastal missile system, as well as drone production sites and temporary concentration points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries in 154 locations, the ministry added. 

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that Russian air defenses shot down 121 Ukrainian drones last night alone. "Last night, operational air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 121 unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type belonging to Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.

Furthermore, the dam at the Belgorod reservoir in the Belgorod region of Russia was damaged as a result of an attack by Ukrainian armed forces, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Saturday.