The United States President Barrack Obama has plans for meeting with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The meeting of the presidents will take place when the G20 summit is convened in early September in St. Petersburg. However, as of now, there are no plans for bilateral talks. These tentative plans have been confirmed by a representative of the White House on August 7, 2013.

The White House spokesman Jay Carney stated in early August that the two presidents will definitely see each other when the G20 summit takes place, but that there are no plans for a one-on-one meeting right now. Later on, if the plans change, a meeting might be included into the agenda, but as of right now, it is not being considered. Mr. Carney said that the U.S. President is looking forward to attending the summit in St. Petersburg on the 5th and the 6th of September.

The Associated Press reported that it received confirmation of these plans from sources within the U.S. Administration. Just like the White House spokesman, members of the Administration believe that the U.S. President will not hold any bilateral talks at the G20 summit.

Jay Carney stated that the U.S. President’s schedule has not been revised or modified, and that it does include a trip to St. Petersburg to attend the G-20 summit scheduled there. Carney also laid emphasis on the fact that the G20 summit sets an international platform and is designed for discussion of global matters. The United States, according to the White House spokesman, will follow the G20 agenda, as is expected of every country that attends the summit.

Carney went on to tell the public that the United States was still analyzing the value of a one-on-one meeting and had concerns regarding Russia. The spokesperson stressed the fact that there were several disagreements between the two countries. Chief among the issues on which Russia and the United States do not see eye-to-eye are the issues of Syria and the situation with the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked secret information. As there has been little progress recently on these points of disagreement, the U.S. officials now believe that bilateral talks are not appropriate, especially not so soon.

The White House also released a statement summarizing the same information. According to the release, the relationship between the U.S. and Russia has not yet developed enough, and so the White House has decided that no bilateral talks will be held this September. The White House statement said that there had been advancements in the relations between Russia and the U.S. during President Obama’s first term in the form of the countries’ cooperation on Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and the New START Treaty. However, there was no progress on missile defense, arms control, trade relations, and human rights for the past one year. Mindful of the situation, the U.S. government decided to postpone the talks until more results will be achieved from the mutual agenda.

The U.S. Administration also shared its regrets over Russia’s decision regarding Edward Snowden, who has been extended temporary asylum in Russia. Russia’s granting asylum to Edward Snowden appears to have been a critical factor in the decision-making process for the U.S. to cancel a summit in Moscow.

The White House statement went on to say that the U.S. prioritizes cooperation on all issues with Russia. In this regard, Secretaries Kerry and Hagel met with their Russian counterparts and talked about achieving greater progress in bilateral relations.

In recent times, the relationship between Russia and the United States has already been strained. The turn of events leading to Edward Snowden’s receiving temporary asylum in Russia led to even more complications.