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Will Putin give Kerry the cold shoulder? Kremlin not confirming one-on-one meeting in Russia
The prospect of Vladimir Putin giving U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry the cold shoulder looms over an official visit to Russia on Tuesday, with the Kremlin not yet confirming Obama administration claims that the two will meet.
The confusion comes on the heels of Saudi King Salman pulling out of a planned Camp David summit with other Gulf leaders, sending a representative instead. While the administration on Monday denied the change of plans was a snub, the State Department apparently has no intention of being stood up by Putin, as Kerry heads to Russia for his first visit there since relations between Washington and Moscow plummeted amid disagreements over Ukraine and Syria.
The State Department said Kerry would in fact meet Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
"This trip is part of our ongoing effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure U.S. views are clearly conveyed," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
But in a sign of the considerable strains, the Kremlin said Putin's attendance has yet to be confirmed.
The Russian-government backed Sputnik news agency reported that a Kremlin spokesman said a final decision has not been made.
"We will let you know if such a meeting takes place," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly told a Russian radio station.
If they do meet, all sides have much to discuss.
In addition to Ukraine and Syria, Harf said the talks would also focus on the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the group of nations known as the P5+1 -- Russia, the United States, Germany, Britain, France and China.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged the "complicated" relationship between the former foes, but insisted they could continue cooperating on "interests that benefit the citizens of both our countries."
The short trip to Sochi will be only Kerry's second to Russia since taking office. He first visited Moscow in May 2013 and had meetings with Putin and Lavrov before the Ukraine crisis erupted and Russia annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in early 2014.
The meeting will occur amid tensions that Moscow squarely laid on Washington's doorstep in a statement released Monday by the Foreign Ministry. While saying it hoped Kerry's visit will "normalize bilateral relations on which global stability largely depends," it also blamed the United States for provoking the Ukrainian crisis by isolating Russia and prompting its allies to follow suit.
"We emphatically raise the issue of the need to resolve the problems created by Washington in our bilateral agenda," the statement said.
Ukraine has served as the main source of discord in dialogue between Moscow and Washington.
The western-backed government in Kiev continues to be embroiled in a sporadic conflict between government and separatist rebel forces in its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk despite a cease-fire agreement sealed in mid-February.
Western nations have accused Russia of supporting the separatists with arms and manpower -- a claim that Moscow has denied.
Underscoring the animosity, the Russian foreign ministry on Monday blamed the United States for the unrest in Ukraine and said Washington was trying to isolate Russia on the international arena.
Moscow has bristled at Washington's pledge to provide Ukraine with military assistance in the form of hardware and training.
In late April, troops from the United States and Ukraine kicked off joint training exercises intended to help bolster Ukraine's defenses. The exercises, dubbed "Fearless Guardian-2015," sparked outrage from Russia, which described them as a potential cause of destabilization.
Ukraine says more than 8,000 people have died in the country's conflict that began in April 2014.
Russia has stuck firmly to the line that the Ukrainian government retains the bulk of responsibility for bringing about a settlement.
Diplomats in Moscow and Washington also remain at odds over a range of other international issues.
Russia last month announced it would lift a five-year ban on delivery of the S-300 air defense missile system to Iran, drawing a hasty rebuke from the United States.
On Syria, Russia has defied a chorus of international condemnation to remain fast to the embattled government of President Bashar Assad.
Following his stop in Sochi, Kerry will travel on to Antalya, Turkey, where he will attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday. Kerry will return to Washington that same day to attend meetings between President Barack Obama and top officials of the Gulf Arab states, who are concerned by the possibility of a nuclear deal with Iran.
Foxnews/ The Associated Press contributed to this report.