Moscow regrets missed opportunity of Putin Obama meeting

Moscow regrets that another opportunity for the Russian and US presidents to meet will be missed, the Kremlin said Friday. "We regret that the meeting will not happen because generally the bilateral relations require continuation of the dialogue on the top level," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov said that Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama needed to discuss the "abundant" bilateral agenda, including international issues, first of all the situation in Syria. Obama has cancelled his participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum slated in Indonesia on Oct. 7-8 due to US government's unresolved budget issues. Peskov said Moscow understands the domestic problems the U.S. administration currently faces and that Russia looks forward for another opportunity to organize the bilateral meeting of the two presidents. Obama has appointed Secretary of State John Kerry to attend the APEC summit. According to Peskov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov might meet Kerry during the summit. Earlier in September, Obama cancelled a planned meeting with Putin, citing disappointment with Russia's decision to grant asylum to a former contractor of the U.S. National Security Agency Edward Snowden.