From
earlier
Poroshenko's
Kerch Strait stunt aims at derailing Trump-Putin G20 meeting
The
Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris
take a quick look at Poroshenko's claims of a Russian invasion of
Ukraine, and how the recent Kerch Strait tensions will feed nicely
into the neocon war agenda, derailing any rapprochement between Trump
and Putin during the G20 summit
Trump cancels planned meeting with Putin at G20 over Russia-Ukraine flare up
RT,
29
November, 2018
US President Donald Trump has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin which was due to take place at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Trump had previously cast doubt over whether the meeting would take place, telling the Washington Post on Wednesday that “maybe” he would cancel the tete-a-tete, citing the recent confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian military vessels in the Kerch Strait.
Three
Ukrainian Navy vessels were apprehended by Russia trying to cross
between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Sunday. While Kiev said it
had informed Russia of the crossing, Moscow said it had not received
notification.
Leaving
the White House for Argentina on Thursday, Trump told reporters he
“probably” would meet with Putin at the summit, but said he would
make a decision after receiving a briefing on the plane.
Shortly
after, Trump tweeted that “it would be best for all parties
concerned” to cancel the meeting with Putin “based on the fact
that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine.”
Trump
said he looked forward to a "meaningful summit" when the
"situation is resolved."
Responding
to Trump's decision, the Kremlin said it had received no confirmation
of the cancellation through official channels. A Kremlin
spokesperson said if the meeting is off, however, Putin will have a
few free hours for other important meetings.
It's
not the first time uncertainty has surrounded whether a meeting
between the two leaders would take place. In fact, it seems to happen
frequently.
Just
three days before the pair met in Helsinki in July, Special Counsel
Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged"collusion" between
Trump and Russia announced grand jury indictments against 12 Russian
military officials for their alleged roles in interfering in US
domestic politics. That move prompted White House officials to
suggest Mueller was trying to derail the Helsinki meeting.
There
were also conflicting reports about a possible meeting between the
two leaders in the days before Armistice Day commemorations in Paris
last month. In the end, the two reportedly had a brief conversation
behind the scenes and shook hands publicly after French organizers
changed the seating arrangements at the last minute to avoid having
the pair seated next to each other.
Under Pressure: Trump Cancels Upcoming Putin Meeting But Refuses To Blame Russia For Kerch Strait Incident
MOSCOW,
Russian Federation – U.S President Donald Trump announced that he
was canceling a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G20
summit in Argentina.
He
made this decision after reading the report on the incident in the
Kerch Strait. According to him, the main reason for the incident was
the fact that ships and sailors did not return to Ukraine. Trump was
criticized by both Neocon Republicans and Clinton Democrats alike,
for failing to ‘condemn’ Russia.
“I
look forward to a meaningful summit again as soon as the situation is
resolved!” – Trump wrote on Twitter .
The
Russians, for their part, have also made an official statement. RIA
reports that the spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov,
said that the Kremlin has no official information about canceling the
meeting.
At
the same time, he noted that if the United States confirms the
refusal, then Putin will have a couple extra hours to meet on the
sidelines of the summit.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump
RevContent
InArticle SOLO
The
last time world leaders could briefly talk in early November in Paris
on the “margins” of events in honor of the centenary of the end
of the First World War.
In
mid-July, the first full-format meeting between Putin and Trump was
held in Helsinki. The conversation between the leaders of Russia and
the United States began in a one-on-one format, then negotiations
continued with the participation of members of delegations. The heads
of state discussed ways of normalizing and developing bilateral
relations, and pressing issues on the international agenda.
Provocation
in the Kerch Strait
On
the morning of November 25, the ships of the Ukrainian Navy,
Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yana Kapu, violated the state border of Russia
and maneuvered dangerously for several hours without reacting to the
legal demands of Russian boats and ships.
Shipping
in the Kerch Strait resumed
The
vessels were detained, 24 Ukrainian military men were on board,
including the SBU officers, who, according to the Center for Public
Relations of the FSB, coordinated the provocations.
A
criminal case: violation of the state border
Vladimir
Putin called the situation in the Kerch Strait pre-prepared
provocation, which Petro Poroshenko used as a pretext to impose a
state of emergency in Ukraine on the eve of presidential elections.
At
the same time, the head of state stressed that Russian border guards
were fulfilling their duty to protect the state border.
This is from yesterday
President
Vladimir Putin said the clash between Russian and Ukrainian military
ships was a result of foreign nations failing to hold Kiev
accountable for bad behavior as long as it remains confrontational
towards Russia.
They
were the first remarks made by the Russian leader since the
confrontation in the Kerch Strait, a narrow passageway between the
Black Sea and the Azov Sea, where a strategic bridge connecting
Crimea to mainland Russia is located.
“The
authorities in Kiev are selling anti-Russian sentiment with quite a
success today. They have nothing else to do,” Putin said during a
business forum in Moscow.
The
Russian president said it seemed like Kiev could get away with
anything as far as foreign nations supporting Ukraine’s
anti-Russian stance were concerned.
If
they demand babies for breakfast, they would probably be served
babies. They’d say: ‘Why not, they are hungry, what is to be done
about it?’ This is such a shortsighted policy and it cannot have a
good outcome. It makes the Ukrainian leadership complacent, gives
them no incentive to do normal political work in their country or
pursue a normal economic policy.
Putin
said the incident, which ended in Russia’s seizure of three
Ukrainian ships and Kiev imposing a partial martial law in the
country, was a “dirty game” by Poroshenko, who needs to suppress
his political opponents ahead of the March presidential election. He
affirmed that the Ukrainian side was responsible for the escalation
of tensions, since the incident was a deliberate and planned
provocation by the Ukrainian Navy.
The
Russian leader also defended the border guards who stopped the
Ukrainian ships from passing through the Kerch Strait, saying it was
their duty as sworn service members to do so and that, if they
failed, they could face a tribunal for defying an order.
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