White House says Trump and Putin will not have separate meeting at APEC

NOVEMBER 10, 2017  07H:41 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Xian Wan, Melissa Gruz, and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Da Nang, Vietnam. Melissa Gruz is traveling with the President.

DANANG, Vietnam - U.S. President Donald Trump will not have a separate meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam due to scheduling conflicts, the White House said on Friday.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrives for APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kham

Trump and Putin will both attend the APEC summit in the Vietnamese city of Danang.

“Regarding a Putin meeting, there was never a meeting confirmed, and there will not be one that takes place due to scheduling conflicts on both sides,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters minutes before landing in Danang.

“Now, they’re going to be in the same place. Are they going to bump into each other and say hello? Certainly possible and likely. But in terms of a scheduled, formal meeting, there’s not one on the calendar and we don’t anticipate that there will be one,” Sanders said.