First Putin-Trump meet to be on Friday

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold a first meeting with US leader Donald Trump on Friday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

“It has been agreed for July 7,” top Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, without giving further details. The much-hyped maiden encounter between the two leaders comes as Trump’s camp is under intense scrutiny over any links to the Kremlin.

US-Russia ties plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War after the Kremlin’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Trump repeatedly pledged to work to improve ties with Russia during his presidential campaign, lavishing praise on Putin.

But hopes have waned in Moscow of an imminent improvement in ties with the US, as accusations Putin ordered a hacking and influence campaign to get Trump elected have made any links to Moscow politically toxic for the White House.

SAUDI KING CANCELS VISIT TO G20 SUMMIT

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has cancelled attendance at this week’s G20 summit in Hamburg, the German government said on Monday, as Riyadh is engaged in a diplomatic standoff with Qatar.

“The government has received official notification that King Salman will not travel to the G20 summit,” a spokesman told AFP.

The 81-year-old monarch will send Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan in his place, the German news agency DPA said separately. The monarch was to have joined the meeting of major industrialised and emerging economies on Friday and Saturday. Recent German media reports have said the Saudi delegation had rented out Hamburg’s Four Seasons hotel in its entirety for the king and his delegation.