Lavrov:

Putin Ready for Bilateral Meeting with Trump on APEC Sidelines

TEHRAN (defapress) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.

News ID: 66914

Date: 08 November 2017 - 14:00

"We have heard [US President] Donald Trump’s announcements that he plans to hold a meeting with President Putin. Putin is ready for it, the US side is aware of this. Protocol officers are now in contact, and when the schedules of the leaders are finally clarified, I think, you will be informed," Lavrov told reporters.

Commenting on Donald Trump’s recent call for the world community's collective isolation of North Korea, the Russian Foreign Minister said that the nuclear problem around Pyongyang could only be solved through a peace settlement, Sputnik reported.

"We are convinced that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement [of the North Korean issue]. Everyone should approach this problem with a cool head and not with emotions," Lavrov said.

Sergey Lavrov also noted that he may hold brief talks with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the sidelines of the APEC summit

"And Tillerson, as I understand, is not here yet, he will arrive with [US] President [Donald] Trump, so most likely we will communicate during the summit," Lavrov said.

The top Russian diplomat also commented on the possible agenda of the talks.

"All questions are on the agenda. Our bilateral relations require serious repair after the [former US President] Obama team worked on their deterioration. In international affairs it is the Korean Peninsula, the Syrian peace settlement, Iraq, the conflict between Palestine and Israel and Ukraine, where the American representative has now begun to work actively and plans to meet with [Russian presidential aide Vladislav] Surkov in the next few days, as I understand it, " Lavrov added.

APEC leaders’ summit will take place in Da Nang on November 10-11.