G20/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet briefly at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, albeit only ‘on their feet,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, according to a Russian-state media outlet. According to a translation of Peskov remarks, he said ‘all participants will intersect’ at the G-20, suggesting an encounter between Putin and Trump was inevitable at the gathering of world leaders in Buenos Aires. The Russian spokesman’s statement represented the latest twist in a back-and-forth between the Trump administration and their counterparts in Moscow. When asked on Friday [11-30-18] if he would exchange pleasantries with Putin, Trump responded: ‘Not particularly. I don’t know.’ The two world leaders were supposed to sit down for high-stakes talks at the summit, but Trump abruptly canceled that session via Twitter on Thursday [11-29-18], citing Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian ships and its crew members as his reason.”
–Deirdre Shesgreen and John Fritze, “Trump, Putin to meet briefly at G-20 summit, says Kremlin spokesman,” USA Today, November 30, 2018 4:38 pm