WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama will see President Vladimir Putin next week at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, but whether they will hold an individual meeting was unclear.
Obama and Putin have been at odds over Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. The move allowed Snowden to avoid facing U.S. espionage charges for revealing details of U.S. surveillance programs.
In protest at this step and other differences, Obama recently canceled Moscow talks that had been planned with Putin ahead of the G20 summit.
Carney told reporters Monday that Obama would inevitably see Putin along with the other G20 leaders since the summit is being held in Russia. But Carney did not directly answer when asked whether Obama and Putin would have a separate meeting of their own.
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