Kremlin coy on Putin-Biden summit after 'positive' diplomatic talks

[May 20, 2021]    MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had yet to decide on whether a summit with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden would go ahead, but hailed talks between the two countries' top diplomats as a positive signal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Harpa Concert Hall, on the sidelines of the Arctic Council Ministerial summit, in Reykjavik, Iceland, May 19, 2021. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS

Ties between Moscow and Washington are at a post-Cold War low after Biden in March said he thought Putin was a "killer", prompting Moscow to recall its ambassador to Washington.

Despite his remark, Biden has said he would like to talk with Putin during a trip to Europe next month.

Russia has said it is weighing up the proposal.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's talks in Iceland on Wednesday were their first in-person meeting.

They said they had serious differences in how they viewed world affairs, but could still find ways to work together.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks would help Moscow decide on the summit option. "Without a doubt, this is a positive signal," he told reporters.

"The very fact that the conversation ... took place is positive. But it's obvious this process will not be simple. Many problems have built up. But at least the talks in Reykjavik between the foreign minister and the secretary of state will help inform the analysis underway in Moscow about (the desirability) of a meeting between the two presidents."

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Andrew Cawthorne)

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