Vladimir Putin ready to meet Donald Trump in Vietnam, says Russian foreign minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump during the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam, said Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The top diplomat said delegates from both sides are already preparing the necessary arrangements for the two powerful leaders to hold discussions at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Vietnam — the main part of the regional summit that will take place on 10 and 11 November.

The schedules of both Trump and Putin are being checked to see when a brief bilateral talk can be arranged when both of them would be available in Vietnam's Da Nang.

"We hear [US President] Donald Trump's announcements that he plans to hold a meeting with President Putin. Putin is ready for it, the US side knows it. Protocol officers are in contact, and when the schedules of the leaders are finally clarified, I think, you will be informed," Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday, 8 November.

Lavrov added that he would also hold separate bilateral discussions — to talk about a range of subjects such as the Korean peninsula crisis, Syrian conflict and Middle East affairs — with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will also be reaching Vietnam during the summit.

The Russian minister added that Trump's political opponents are preventing him from reaching an agreement with Moscow hindering his presidential performance.

"That's why, of course, we can reach agreements, but, unfortunately, they immediately become elements of internal political struggle, internal political games with a view to making President Trump's life and performance as difficult as possible," added Lavrov.