The Kremlin said Thursday that Washington confirmed a one-on-one meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, but Trump later announced that he was canceling the meeting.

In a tweet from Air Force One en route to the summit in Buenos Aires, Trump blamed the cancellation on Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships and sailors over the weekend.

Trump had previously cast the Buenos Aires sit-down into doubt, telling The Washington Post he might cancel seeing Putin after Russia's naval action sparked global condemnation and a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighbors. But he seemed to reverse course as he left the White House on Thursday, telling reporters that the meeting with Putin was still on.

Shortly afterward, however, Trump tweeted: "Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!"

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow: "We are expecting the two presidents to speak briefly at first, but everything is left to the discretion of the heads of state."

As he left the White House on Thursday en route to Argentina, Trump said: "I probably will be meeting with President Putin. We haven't terminated that meeting." He added that he would be getting a "finalized report" on Ukraine while on the plane.

Peskov said the agenda for the meeting scheduled for Saturday between Putin and Trump included strategic security, bilateral relations, disarmament and regional conflicts. "This is in the interests of not only our two countries, but the world at large," he said.

He said American and Russian delegations would also convene for talks that may last an hour. It was not immediately clear whether those talks were still on.

The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has continued to deepen. Kiev is hoping Trump will push Putin on the confrontation, which began Sunday when Russia fired on Ukrainian ships trying to enter the Kerch Strait, a crucial waterway separating the Black and Azov seas.

But while Russia's maritime maneuvers have been sharply criticized by senior U.S. and Western officials, Trump has been more reticent on the issue. He stopped short of condemning Russia, instead saying, "I don't like that aggression."

Limited martial law in Ukraine is in place for 30 days, and Russia said Wednesday it was strengthening air defense and early warning radar systems on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine four years ago.

The Kremlin also scoffed at an appeal by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for NATO to reinforce the Azov Sea with naval ships, saying this was yet another provocation by Kiev designed to further escalate the situation.

Kiev is banking on its Western allies to provide military support to contain Russia, which it says is preparing to invade its territory by land. The latest crisis threatens to significantly worsen the conflict. Fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces has resulted in the deaths of 10,300 people.

There have been widespread calls for Russia to immediately release 24 Ukrainian sailors it captured, and some European leaders have called for fresh sanctions against Russia.

But Russia, for the most part, has shrugged off Western pressure. Russia maintains that the crisis was created by Poroshenko for political gain. The deeply unpopular leader could seek reelection in a vote in March.

The Washington Post's Natalia Abbakumova in Moscow and John Wagner and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.

First published in The Washington Post</s>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Will U.S. President Donald Trump’s much-heralded meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Argentina on Saturday lead to an easing of the Sino-U.S. trade conflict?

That has been the main question of financial and commodity markets leading up to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. The answer is likely to steer investors at the start of the coming week.

Signals leading up to the meeting were at best mixed.

“I think we’re very close to doing something with China, but I don’t know that I want to do it,” Trump said as he set out on his journey from the White House.

The state-run China Daily newspaper said any deal was unlikely to be a comprehensive solution to the impasse due to “diverging demands and agendas”.

Economists at UBS expressed hope that a positive message could at least emerge, with a path towards resolution some time next year, but that recent U.S. actions and statements had tempered their optimism.

ING was downbeat on a breakthrough coming soon, adding that two sides remained far apart on the extent to which China’s trade surplus with the United States could be reduced.

ING Bank forecasts that global trade growth will slow from 2.6 percent this year to 1.3 percent in 2019, the weakest rate since 2009, when the global financial crisis was at its height.

The estimate is based on an intensified U.S.-China trade war in which Washington increases tariffs on $200 billion of products to 25 percent in January from 10 percent now and then targets the $267 billion of Chinese exports not already subject to measures.

Without that, global trade growth could be unchanged at 2.6 percent. However, if Trump also decides to hike import duties on cars, that growth would slump to 0.5 percent next year, ING says.

Trump has threatened for months to impose auto tariffs, notably those made in Europe, although he has pledged to refrain from doing so for the European Union and Japan as long as it makes constructive progress in trade talks with the pair.

However, Trump reignited speculation on Wednesday by saying new auto tariffs were “being studied” and asserting they could prevent jobs cuts such as the layoffs and plant closures announced by General Motors Co (GM.N).

Economists at Citi believe any tariffs would apply to finished vehicles but not to auto parts and the principal question is not if, but when, they will be unveiled.

As speculation has intensified, top executives from German carmakers Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE) and Daimler (DAIGn.DE), previous targets of Trump’s criticism, are set to visit the White House next week.

Once markets have absorbed the fruits of the Trump-Xi exchange, investors may shift focus to at least two events at the end of the week.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies meet on Dec. 6-7 and are expected to discuss a possible production cut. Oil prices have fallen by more than 20 percent in November, to make it the biggest monthly drop in a decade.

The United States will also report its widely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters forecast that the unemployment rate will hold at a 49-year low of 3.7 percent and that year-on-year wage growth will also match the 3.1 percent of October, itself a nine-and-a-half-year high.

The figures, if confirmed, should make it a near-certainty that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for a fourth time this year at its Dec. 18-19 meeting, even as its chairman Jerome Powell signals a more cautious approach on future rate hikes next year.

“While sentiment may be a bit gloomy after the fallout from G20 meeting the more positive tone to the U.S. macro story could improve spirits as we move through the week,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this week's Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted after departing for the G20 summit.

Trump's tweet was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was "a very good time to have the meeting."

But Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow's role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia's possible interference in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.</s>MOSCOW, (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of orchestrating a naval “provocation” in the Black Sea at the weekend in order to boost his flagging popularity ratings before an election next year.

Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews on Sunday over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters, something Ukraine denies.

The episode has raised fears in the West of a wider conflict between the two countries and Kiev has since introduced martial law in parts of the country, saying it fears a possible Russian invasion.

Some of Ukraine’s Western allies have raised the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia over the incident, which could deliver a blow to the Russian economy.

In his first public comments on the incident, Putin said the Ukrainian vessels had clearly been in the wrong, dismissed the incident as a minor border issue, and accused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of having orchestrated the mini crisis in order to boost his dire ratings.

“It was without doubt a provocation,” Putin told a financial forum in Moscow.

“It was organised by the president ahead of the elections. The president is in fifth place ratings-wise and therefore had to do something. It was used as a pretext to introduce martial law.”

Ukraine was successfully using the episode to sell anti-Russian sentiment and the West was ready to forgive Ukrainian politicians their shortcomings because it bought into the narrative Kiev was promoting, said Putin.

The Russian leader was speaking after Moscow said it would send more of its advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to Crimea, the Ukrainian region it annexed in 2014, and a Reuters reporter saw a Russian warship deploying nearby as tensions with Ukraine rose.

Fallout from the episode risks derailing a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin at a G20 summit in Argentina later this week. Trump said on Tuesday that he might cancel the meeting due to the incident, but Putin said on Wednesday he still hoped to meet Trump.</s>The president canceled on Putin not long after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016. The news ensured any meeting with Putin would have put a spotlight on the special counsel's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.</s>President Donald Trump canceled his planned bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was slated to take place Saturday during the G-20 Summit in Argentina.

Trump indicated that the move was in response to the Russia’s seizing three Ukrainian ships and imprisoning 24 sailors in the Sea of Azoz, near the Crimean Peninsula, over the weekend.

He tweeted news of the cancellation from onboard Air Force One on his way to Buenos Aires.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin,” Trump wrote.

He added, “I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!”

Prior to leaving for his trip, Trump sounded more positive that the meeting with Putin would take place during an exchange with reporters at the White House.

“I probably will meet with President Putin,” he said. “We haven’t terminated the meeting. I was thinking about it, but we haven’t. They’d like to have it. I think it’s a very good time to have the meeting.”

However, Trump offered the caveat, “I’m getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that, and that will determine what I’m going to be doing.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters traveling with the president that Trump’s decision was made after conferring with Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

Sanders added that Russia had been made aware of the decision.

“A Kremlin spokesperson told a Russian state media outlet that if the meeting was off, Putin would have several hours freed up for other important meetings,” USA Today reported.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were looking to Trump to take a much tougher stance toward Putin than he did during his Helsinki Summit with the Russian leader in July.

“It’s just about standing up for what we believe in because I think when you don’t stand up to Russia, or other countries that would take that kind of aggressive activity, they take from it that it’s somehow acceptable,” Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told USA Today.

The top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, feels the cancellation means a lost opportunity.

“I would have liked him to meet Putin and challenge Putin, to find his spine as it relates to Putin’s violation of the international order,” Menendez told CNN. “What I wouldn’t want to see is another Helsinki performance. This was (Trump’s) opportunity to redeem himself…and instead he’s abdicating it.”

CNBC reported that Bolton said on Tuesday that Trump and Putin had planned to continue discussions begun in Helsinki on issues concerning arms control and other security issues.

Trump’s decision comes the same day special counsel Robert Mueller entered into a new plea agreement with former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about a Moscow building project the Trump Organization was considering in early 2016.

Mueller made news two days before Trump was slated to meet with Putin in July by announcing the indictments of 12 Russian agents for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election.

The effect, then as now, was to raise the profile of the Russia investigation just as Trump was preparing to meet with the Russian leader.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement Friday, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the WTO, say two European officials involved in the discussions.

Facing the prospect of a no-statement summit, European delegations were trying to create a common front and may come out with their own separate declaration if they can't get the US or others on board. European leaders were meeting in the morning at the summit venue in the Argentine capital to stake out common positions on trade, climate and the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

France is seeking to build coalitions on certain issues or "ad hoc partnerships" to try to salvage the spirit of the G20 even if all countries can't agree, according to a French official.

The officials weren't authorised to be named speaking about the closed-door discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The G20 was supposed to focus on issues like development, infrastructure and investment, but as the gathering officially kicked off, those themes seem like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the conflict over Ukraine.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G20 leaders to discuss "trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen, and Russian aggression in Ukraine". He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

"Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Tusk said, calling the standoff "a cause of great concern".

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning, is among the leaders involved. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the ship incident.

Also expected to loom large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

Saudi Arabia has denied that MBS played a role, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimise a man who US intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing. US President Donald Trump's administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding US relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the prince's first significant appearance overseas since the killing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Trump called the pact known the USMCA a "model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever".

It must still be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries, and passage in the US could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose six-year term ends Saturday, said the deal modernises the trade framework, highlights a need for economic integration in North America and protects labour rights and the environment.

Trade agreements should "move along with the economy", Pena Nieto said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Trump to remove tariffs on steel and aluminium, saying they remain a major economic obstacle.

Trump met in the morning with summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the presidential palace known as the Casa Rosada, or Pink House. Posing for photos in a gilded salon, Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

An expected high-profile bilateral meeting between Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin planned for Saturday was abruptly cancelled by Trump the previous day in a tweet citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels over the weekend. Russian news agencies quoted Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying the cancellation means Putin will have more time for "useful meetings".

Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get in to Buenos Aires early Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem and returned to Germany on Thursday night. Merkel's office said Friday that she and a small delegation, including the finance minister, took a different government plane to Madrid and then boarded a commercial flight to Buenos Aires.

The British Embassy in Argentina said Prime Minister Theresa May's visit would be the first by a UK prime minister to Argentina's capital. The only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair, who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001. The two countries have long been at odds over the Falkland Islands.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said the recent establishment of more flights to the disputed islands was a positive development.

Regarding May's visit, he said: "Macri has reiterated at various moments that dialogue must be maintained. The issue of sovereignty is always on the table."

"We are not withdrawing our historic claim," he added. "The focus of this opportunity is in the reestablishment of trust."</s>President Donald Trump canceled his planned bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was slated to take place Saturday during the G-20 Summit in Argentina.

Trump indicated that the move was in response to the Russia’s seizing three Ukrainian ships and imprisoning 24 sailors in the Sea of Azoz, near the Crimean Peninsula, over the weekend.

He tweeted news of the cancellation from onboard Air Force One on his way to Buenos Aires.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin,” Trump wrote.

He added, “I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!”

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Prior to leaving for his trip, Trump sounded more positive that the meeting with Putin would take place during an exchange with reporters at the White House.

“I probably will meet with President Putin,” he said. “We haven’t terminated the meeting. I was thinking about it, but we haven’t. They’d like to have it. I think it’s a very good time to have the meeting.”

However, Trump offered the caveat, “I’m getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that, and that will determine what I’m going to be doing.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters traveling with the president that Trump’s decision was made after conferring with Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

Sanders added that Russia had been made aware of the decision.

“A Kremlin spokesperson told a Russian state media outlet that if the meeting was off, Putin would have several hours freed up for other important meetings,” USA Today reported.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were looking to Trump to take a much tougher stance toward Putin than he did during his Helsinki Summit with the Russian leader in July.

“It’s just about standing up for what we believe in because I think when you don’t stand up to Russia, or other countries that would take that kind of aggressive activity, they take from it that it’s somehow acceptable,” Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told USA Today.

The top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, feels the cancellation means a lost opportunity.

“I would have liked him to meet Putin and challenge Putin, to find his spine as it relates to Putin’s violation of the international order,” Menendez told CNN. “What I wouldn’t want to see is another Helsinki performance. This was (Trump’s) opportunity to redeem himself…and instead he’s abdicating it.”

CNBC reported that Bolton said on Tuesday that Trump and Putin had planned to continue discussions begun in Helsinki on issues concerning arms control and other security issues.

Trump’s decision comes the same day special counsel Robert Mueller entered into a new plea agreement with former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about a Moscow building project the Trump Organization was considering in early 2016.

Mueller made news two days before Trump was slated to meet with Putin in July by announcing the indictments of 12 Russian agents for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election.

The effect, then as now, was to raise the profile of the Russia investigation just as Trump was preparing to meet with the Russian leader.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States has confirmed that a meeting in Argentina between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would go ahead on Saturday at a G20 summit, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The meeting was thrown into doubt on Tuesday when Trump said he might cancel it after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels at the weekend.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this week’s Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!” Trump tweeted after departing for the G20 summit.

Trump’s tweet was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was “a very good time to have the meeting.”

But Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow’s role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia’s possible interference in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion.
After Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the summit is still on, while flying to Argentina, President Trump tweets that, after conferring with his top National Security advisers, he decided to cancel the meeting, adding that it was not a good time since Russia has not returned the ships and sailors to Ukraine. Less than an hour earlier, Trump said that he would "probably" meet Putin and that he believed it was "a good time to have the meeting."