奥巴马取消“奥普”会
时间：2013-08-08 08:28:46
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（单词翻译）
Snub follows Moscow's granting whistle-blower shelter for one year
US President Barack Obama is canceling plans to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow next month - a rare diplomatic snub.
The move is retribution for Russia's decision to grant temporary
asylum1 to Edward Snowden, who is accused of leaking highly secretive details about US National Security Agency surveillance programs. It also reflects growing US
frustration2 with Russia on several issues, including missile
defense3 and human rights.
A top White House official said Obama still plans to attend the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, but has no plans to meet Putin one-on-one.
Obama said in an interview on Tuesday he was "disappointed" by Russia's move to grant Snowden asylum for one year. He said it also reflected the "
underlying4 challenges" the US faces in
dealing5 with Moscow.
US President Barack Obama chats with host Jay Leno during a taping of The Tonight Show at NBC Studios on Tuesday in Burbank, California. Mandel Ngan / Agence France-Presse
"There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality," Obama said in an interview on NBC's The Tonight Show.
The US was expected to alert the Russians on Wednesday morning about Obama's decision, though the two presidents were not expected to speak directly. Obama and Putin last met in June on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
Instead of visiting Putin in Moscow, the US president will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel
itinerary6.
White House Deputy National Security
Adviser7 Ben Rhodes said Russia's decision last week to defy the US only worsened an already troubled relationship. With few signs progress would be made during the Moscow summit on other agenda items, Rhodes said the president
decided8 to cancel the talks.
"We'll still work with Russia on issues where we can find common ground, but it was the unanimous view of the president and his national security team that a summit did not make sense in the current environment," Rhodes said.
US. President Barack Obama, left, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G8 Summit at Lough Erne in Enniskillen, Northern reland June 17, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]
Obama's decision is likely to deepen the chill in the already frosty relationship between the two leaders. They have frequently found themselves at
odds9 on pressing international issues, most recently in Syria, where the US accuses Putin of
helping10 President Bashar al-Assad fund a civil conflict.
Moscow has accused the US of installing a missile shield in Eastern Europe as a
deterrent11 against Russia, despite US assurances that the shield is not aimed at its former Cold War
foe12. Putin also signed a law last year banning US
adoptions13 of Russian children, a move that was seen as
retaliation14 for the US measure that cleared the way for the human rights sanctions.
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