Putin and Trump meet over dinner, discuss Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has briefed his US counterpart Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis as he came under pressure over Moscow’s foreign policy at the G-20 summit in Argentina.
Putin said he explained Moscow’s position to Trump when the leaders met briefly at a summit dinner on Friday.
“We spoke standing up. I replied to his questions about the incident in the Black Sea,” Putin told reporters at the end of the summit on Saturday.
Putin strode into the summit under a cloud, having drawn outrage from Europe over last week’s incident in which Russian navy detained three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors - causing Trump to abruptly cancel their scheduled meeting on the sidelines of the summit.
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko kept up the pressure from Kiev, saying Putin had refused to take his calls since the crisis started.
BUENOS AIRES:
TRUMP HOPES TO MEET KIM IN EARLY 2019
Trump said he hoped to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in early 2019, perhaps as soon as January or February.
When asked about a future meeting, Trump said, “I think we’re going to do one fairly (soon) - into January, February, I think.”
KHASHOGGI: ERDOGAN SEEKS EXTRADITIONS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded on Saturday that Saudi Arabia extradite suspects in the killing in Istanbul of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, taking to task the kingdom’s crown prince. “It’s essential that these people are tried in Turkey,” Erdogan told reporters.
A HIGH-FIVE FOR SAUDI PRINCE FROM PUTIN
Putin walked up to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, high-fived him and then shook his hand heartily. Moments earlier, the prince had been pictured on the far edge of the traditional family portrait photograph, ignored by other leaders. Putin’s exuberant greeting of the prince was seen as over the top and promptly went viral on the internet.
TRUMP TO FORMALLY PULL U.S. OUT OF NAFTA
Trump announced his intention late on Saturday to quickly withdraw the US from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a move intended to force House Democrats to enact a revised version of the pact despite concerns that it fails to protect American workers.
“I will be formally terminating NAFTA shortly,” Trump told reporters, a day after appearing at a ceremonial signing of the new deal with Canada and Mexico.