Moscow says it’s open to having a Putin-Trump summit

MOSCOW – A senior Russian diplomat says Moscow is open to having a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in remarks carried Monday by the Interfax news agency that it’s important to have a meeting between the two world leaders.

They were going to hold talks when they attended a G-20 summit in Argentina a few weeks ago, but Trump abruptly cancelled the meeting over a Russia-Ukraine naval standoff.

Ryabkov warned it would be a “deep mistake” to think Russia has a bigger interest than Washington in repairing bilateral ties.

Russia-U.S. ties have sunk to their lowest levels since the Cold War, due to Russian interference in Ukraine, the war in Syria and reports of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential vote.