Putin: The Summit with Trump in Budapest is Not Canceled, but Postponed 0 15

Vladimir Putin interprets Donald Trump's words about their meeting in Budapest as a postponement rather than a cancellation of the summit. The President of Russia made this statement in Moscow on Thursday, October 23, as reported on the Kremlin's website.

Putin: Not a Cancellation, but a Postponement of the Summit

"I am familiar with this statement. The President of the United States decided to cancel or postpone this meeting. Rather, he is talking about postponing this meeting. What can be said? Dialogue is always better than some confrontation, than some disputes, or even war. Therefore, we have always supported the continuation of dialogue and continue to do so now," noted Putin.

"For both me and the American president, it would be a mistake to approach this lightly and leave after this meeting without the expected result," added the President of Russia. He reminded that the summit in Budapest was proposed by the United States, and prior to it, according to bilateral agreements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov should meet.

Putin: Sanctions Have Damaged Russia-U.S. Relations

Regarding the new American sanctions against Russia, Putin acknowledged that "they are serious for us and will have certain consequences." At the same time, he is confident that these sanctions "will not significantly affect" Russia's "economic well-being." "This is an attempt to exert pressure on Russia. But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decide anything under pressure," continued the Russian leader.

According to Putin, the new restrictions "do not strengthen Russian-American relations, which have only just begun to recover." "With such actions, the U.S. administration is damaging Russian-American relations," summarized the President of Russia.