Vladimir Putin earlier this month rejected an offer from Barack Obama for landmark bilateral talks at the White House, the Kremlin has claimed.
Less than a week before Mr Putin's May 7 presidential inauguration, he received a missive from Mr Obama touching upon bilateral and international issues and inviting him to discuss them in a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the May 18-19 G8 summit, Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said.
"Obama sent his letter on May 2," Mr Ushakov told a briefing. "He even proposed holding a separate meeting at the White House in Washington outside of the framework of the G8."
But the Russian strongman told him he would not be able to travel to the United States and instead sent his protégé and Kremlin predecessor Dmitry Medvedev to the summit at Obama's Camp David residence in Maryland.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin could not go because he was too busy forming a government after his inauguration. Analysts say the Kremlin's explanation for the cancellation of the talks does not hold water.
After Mr Putin's refusal to go the United States, the White House said Mr Obama would not attend the APEC summit Russia hosts in Vladivostok in September, which comes soon after the Democratic presidential nomination convention.
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Vladimir Putin 'rejects Barack Obama offer to attend White House' - Telegraph
Less than a week before Mr Putin's May 7 presidential inauguration, he received a missive from Mr Obama touching upon bilateral and international issues and inviting him to discuss them in a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the May 18-19 G8 summit, Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said.
"Obama sent his letter on May 2," Mr Ushakov told a briefing. "He even proposed holding a separate meeting at the White House in Washington outside of the framework of the G8."
But the Russian strongman told him he would not be able to travel to the United States and instead sent his protégé and Kremlin predecessor Dmitry Medvedev to the summit at Obama's Camp David residence in Maryland.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin could not go because he was too busy forming a government after his inauguration. Analysts say the Kremlin's explanation for the cancellation of the talks does not hold water.
After Mr Putin's refusal to go the United States, the White House said Mr Obama would not attend the APEC summit Russia hosts in Vladivostok in September, which comes soon after the Democratic presidential nomination convention.
more
Vladimir Putin 'rejects Barack Obama offer to attend White House' - Telegraph