Putin Rejects White House Talks

AFP reports: "Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month rejected an offer from United States (US) President Barack Obama for landmark bilateral talks at the White House, the Kremlin revealed on Tuesday."

Less than a week before Mr Putin's May 7 inauguration, he received a missive from Mr Obama touching upon bilateral and international issues and inviting him to discuss them in a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the May 18 to 19 G8 summit, Mr Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said.

'Obama sent his letter on May 2,' Mr Ushakov told a briefing.

'He even proposed holding a separate meeting at the White House in Washington outside of the framework of the G8.'

Putin skipped the G8 talks at Camp David earlier this month, sending his trusted protege in his place.