“Preparations for the summit are continuing,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying. “I don’t see any major obstacles.”
He added: “It’s a difficult process, I admit – but that’s precisely what diplomats are for.”
Russia and Ukraine pounded each other with heavy overnight missile attacks as renewed uncertainty surrounded the US-led peace effort.
Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that Russian attacks had killed six people, including two children, in Kyiv and the nearby region, and forced power outages nationwide.
Ukraine’s military said late on Tuesday that it used Franco-British Storm Shadow air-launched missiles to strike a chemical plant in southern Russia’s Bryansk region.
SHARES IN EUROPEAN DEFENCE COMPANIES RISE
Through the first nine months of his second term, Trump has pressed for an end to the conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War II.
Sharply critical at times of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he has also expressed frustration and disappointment with Putin – but has not followed through on his repeated threats of new sanctions against Moscow.
Shares in European defence companies rose on news of the delay to the Putin-Trump summit. Most European governments strongly back Kyiv and have pledged to raise their military spending to help Ukraine meet its defence needs.
Zelenskyy was due to meet Sweden’s prime minister on Wednesday at the development and manufacturing centre of Saab, which makes fighter jets, surveillance aircraft, missile systems and anti-tank weapons.
“Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership does not feel critical problems. And this can be ensured only through sanctions, long-range capabilities, and coordinated diplomacy among all our partners,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine said there were emergency power outages in most regions of the country as a result of the latest Russian attacks.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha appealed to Kyiv’s international partners to mobilise “additional energy support” to prevent a humanitarian crisis as winter approaches
