Ending a period of tense diplomatic silence, President Barack Obama will meet one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the United Nations in New York City next week, a senior administration official tells POLITICO.
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Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly because of Russian intervention in Ukraine.
Putin had told John that since he was a popular performer he would be ready to meet him and discuss any subjects which interested him, if their schedules coincided, Peskov said.
The two heads of state will talk about an hour on the Syria conflict Monday, and the Ukraine crisis will only be discussed if there is time left in their meeting, he said.
Obama has repeatedly declined to meet with Putin in recent months due to ongoing tensions in Ukraine and Syria, where Moscow’s military has been extremely active. Peskov said the meeting would take place after Putin’s speech, but Earnest declined to say when it would happen.
Russian celebrity prankster Vladimir Krasnov said he and his comedy partner pranked John, playing the roles of Putin and a press secretary during the call.
The phone pranksters, comedians who go by the names Vovan and Lexus, posted the audio of the call in question. The USA, as well as other Western countries, imposed sanctions on Russian Federation over the annexation and over claims that Moscow is supporting an insurgency in eastern Ukraine with troops and arms. Messrs. Obama and Putin have had informal discussions on the sidelines of worldwide summits, most recently last November in Australia.
Moscow has said any support for Assad is in line with existing military contracts and that personnel have been sent to train the Syrian forces.
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“It is clear that he’s [Putin’s] interested in the attention of the leader of the United States of America and, given the lengthy list of concerns that we have about Russia’s conduct in a couple of these worldwide hot spots, a face-to-face sitdown team is appropriate at this juncture”.
