Quick meeting
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump had a very brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina on Friday, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, though the two leaders did not hold proper talks.
On Thursday, Trump said he had cancelled his scheduled meeting with Putin at the summit over Russia’s detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors near Crimea last week.
At a press conference, Putin said he had answered Trump’s questions about the Kerch Strait incident during their conversation and noted that the U.S. leader’s position on the incident was different from his own.
Four-way talks
Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia will hold further talks about the naval standoff in the Kerch Strait, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, urging Moscow to let Ukrainian vessels enter the Sea of Azov.
"All escalations must be avoided," Merkel told reporters after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. "The freedom of shipping traffic in the Sea of Azov.... must be ensured."
Gorbachev hails Bush
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, on Saturday hailed the late George H.W. Bush's role in helping end the Cold War and an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Gorbachev, 87, was speaking after Bush, the 41st president of the United States, died on Friday at the age of 94.
"I pay tribute to George Bush's contribution towards this historic achievement. He was a genuine partner," Gorbachev said.
Dangerous music
On Saturday, police shortly detained the Russian music duo IC3PEAK at the train station in Novosibirsk, the group said in a statement posted on their Instagram page, hours after their planned concert in the Siberian city had been canceled under pressure from the police.
They were released later Saturday and performed after finding a new venue in the city.
Trash protests
Over 3,000 people reportedly gathered on Sunday at a rally in Russia’s northern city of Arkhangelsk to protest against federal plans to export trash from Moscow to remote regions, including the Arkhangelsk region.
Representatives from a number of political parties were present at the protests, while representatives of the ruling United Russia party were reportedly depicted on posters under the slogan: “the Shameful Regiment.”
Hope for more talks
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that he hoped it would be possible for U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet before a G20 summit in Japan in June next year.
“It seems to me that it's very important for us and for them to find a way of meeting before then," Ushakov said.
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