The decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend an upcoming G8 summit hosted by US President Barack Obama has come as a “complete shock” to the White House, a leading Russian newspaper reported on Friday.
Russia's usually-reliable Kommersant newspaper cited an unnamed “highly-placed” Kremlin official, a member of the Russian government, a Russian diplomat and a source within the US Department of State as its sources.
The report came a day after White House spokesman Jay Carney said of Putin's plans not to travel to Camp David next week: “It was not a surprise, and does not at all feel like a snub.”
Tensions between Washington and Moscow have been strained in recent months over a planned missile shield in the NATO region, the pace of US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Syrian civil war and mass anti-government demonstrations in Russia,.
A Russian government official cited in the news story said Putin's cancellation was “a signal” given US “unwillingness to take into account our worries about missile defence.”
The article said the US only learned of Putin's intention not to attend the summit on Wednesday, when Putin informed Obama in a personal telephone call. Putin, who will instead by represented by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, is also set to miss a subsequent NATO summit in Chicago.
US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul reportedly received orders from Washington to send an emergency cable to his superiors by Wednesday evening to explain Putin's cancellation.
The Kremlin has said the reason for the cancellation is the need for Putin, who was inaugurated to a third term in office on Monday, to work on forming a new cabinet. Carney had said Obama “absolutely understands that.”
Putin and Obama are still scheduled to meet bilaterally on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Mexico in June.Author: Stefan Korshak - Sapa-dpa