Russian Diplomat Denies ‘Non-Paper’ Exchange on Ukraine, Blames ‘Opponents’ for Summit Cancellation Rumors
MOSCOW: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov asserted today that preparations for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump are continuing, despite reports that the American side has shelved the planned high-level meeting.
According to TASS news agency, While Speaking to the press, the senior diplomat addressed the swirling media speculation regarding the proposed summit—which was recently called off by President Trump, who cited a desire to avoid a “wasted meeting”—and pushed back on certain unconfirmed reports.
“We are saying that preparations for the summit are continuing,” Ryabkov stated, adding that he does “not see any significant obstacles” to the meeting taking place. He noted, however, that the key challenge remains fleshing out the specific “parameters defined by the presidents” at their previous meeting in Anchorage, Alaska—a process he admitted is “difficult.”
Ryabkov explicitly refuted media claims regarding the exchange of closed diplomatic notes, or “non-papers,” on Ukraine between Moscow and Washington. “I cannot confirm that they were exchanged,” he said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister strongly suggested that “opponents” of a Russia-US agreement are deliberately spreading “rumors and fakes” to derail the potential meeting between the leaders.
“I attribute this to the deliberate desire of those opposed to an agreement to reduce the chances of achieving it,” he commented, referring to the abundance of reports emanating from “anonymous sources, mainly appearing in the information space controlled by Western media.”
Furthermore, Ryabkov dismissed reports of a planned pre-summit meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Budapest, stating there were “no agreements on this matter.” He offered a preemptive warning: “I’m warning in advance those who will start writing about the cancellation of something again — don’t.”