Russia’s Ryabkov says potential Putin-Trump summit is on the agenda

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -The possibility of another meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump is on the agenda, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview for the state-owned International Affairs magazine, published on Saturday.

“The search for a way forward continues,” he said.

Ryabkov said contacts between Russia and the United States had not been suspended, and channels for dialogue continued to function.

Trump and Putin last met in Alaska in August, but failed to produce any agreement to resolve or pause Moscow’s war in Ukraine. A subsequent plan to meet in Budapest was suspended indefinitely.

“We are working on an ongoing basis. We have well-established formats and channels. Not all of these channels are visible or audible, not all of them need to be discussed publicly, but the fact remains that everything is in working order.”

Ryabkov said the progress in establishing dialogue between Russia and the U.S. was “impressive”.

Ryabkov also commented on the possibility of a trilateral meeting with China and the United States on nuclear stability, saying that Moscow did not intend to push Beijing towards it.

“We have no questions for China on the subject of arms control and strategic stability,” Ryabkov said, adding that Russia had not received any formal proposals from the U.S. regarding such a meeting.

Trump has expressed interest in getting China involved in nuclear arms reduction efforts alongside Russia and the U.S.

Last month, he said Putin had raised the prospect of a bilateral nuclear de-escalation, and China could be added to that effort.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)