According to Barack Obama’s key foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes, the United States and Russia are not presently holding discussions on organizing a bilateral summit. Nevertheless, President Barack Obama intends to attend the G8 summit in Sochi.

In 2013, the Russian-American presidential summit that was to take place in Moscow got cancelled by the U.S. side on a very short notice. The decision of the United States to cancel the high-level talks followed shortly after Moscow granted asylum to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. The White House publicly announced that the situation around Edward Snowden was not the primary factor for cancelling bilateral talks. Rather, the United States asserted that the overall progress in Russian-American affairs was not sufficient to warrant a presidential summit.

Mr. Rhodes nevertheless acknowledged that President Obama has plans to attend the event in Sochi and that the U.S. leader will have his agenda full at the Russian Black Sea resort. Additionally, Mr. Rhodes expressed his belief that high-level engagements were possible during the Nuclear Security Summit.

The Deputy National Security Adviser stated that the two sides were not discussing a full-scale bilateral meeting at this point in time. While Mr. Rhodes stated that the Sochi trip is so far the only visit to Russia planned, he indicated that the presidential schedule may change in the future.