Vladimir Putin skips G8 summit, sends Medvedev
Baku, May 10 (AZERTAC). Russian President Vladimir Putin is skipping a planned visit to the U.S. for an economic summit this month, and will also miss a much-anticipated meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, the White House announced Wednesday.
The Russian leader told Obama by phone that he is unable to join the other leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations meeting outside Washington on May 18-19 because he needs to finish work setting up his new Cabinet, the White House said. The Obama administration had moved the gathering to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland from the planned venue in Chicago partly to accommodate Putin.
Putin`s change of heart appeared to take the White House by surprise. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon had travelled to Moscow last week to discuss the G8 agenda and other issues with Putin and other leaders.
There was no immediate confirmation of the change in plans from the Kremlin.
Putin took power this week, returning after four years to a post he had previously held for two terms. He made sharp criticism of the United States a central theme in his election, but it is not clear whether he will pull back from co-operation with the United States in several areas begun by former President Dmitry Medvedev.
"The two presidents reiterated their interest in the sustained high-level dialogue that has characterized the reset of relations and the substantial progress of the last three years," since Obama took office, the White House said in a statement outlining the phone call Wednesday.
Other news in this section
