Putin and Trump chat at last and face off over Ukraine

[Stelistu]

Russian President Vladimir Putin got his chance to talk with U.S. President Donald Trump after all — but their brief exchange over Ukraine didn't accomplish much.

Russia put on a brave face after Trump abruptly junked a much-awaited sit-down with Putin, blaming it on internal U.S. politics and "anti-Russian hysteria." But Trump's snub was a clear kick to Putin as he joined a Group of 20 gathering in Argentina, where Western leaders banded together to denounce Russia's actions in Ukraine.

The two men did end up talking briefly on the sidelines of the G-20 — just long enough for Trump to ask Putin what he is up to in Ukraine, and for Putin to respond."I answered his questions about the incident in the Black Sea. He has his position. I have my own. We stayed in our own positions," Putin told reporters.

He subbed in Turkey's president for the time slot he had reserved for Trump, and sought to strengthen his alliance with China and other non-Western economies. And he cozied up at Friday's round-table talks to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, somewhat of a fellow outcast at the G-20 over his suspected role in the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist.

Putin called it "too bad" that Trump cancelled their formal meeting, and hinted at the potential fallout if the leaders of the world's two biggest nuclear powers can't talk to each other substantively. Putin warned that the U.S. intention to opt out of a Cold War-era nuclear pact "creates risks of an uncontrollable arms race."

Such weapons are seen as extremely destabilizing as they take just a few minutes to reach targets, leaving virtually no time for decision-makers and dramatically increasing the possibility of a nuclear conflict over a false attack warning or technical glitch.There was a risk that the Trump-Putin meeting could have worked out badly for both of them.

After the summit with Putin in July, Trump was widely criticized for failing to publicly denounce Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election and appearing to accept Putin's denials of such activity. More anti-Russian sanctions followed and relations soured further.