WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday canceled a Moscow summit with President Vladimir Putin planned for next month in retaliation for Russia’s decision to grant asylum to fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.
The move marks a stark low point in U.S.-Russian relations and raised questions about the “reset” in ties that Obama embarked on in his first term to try to gain more diplomatic cooperation, only to find that deep differences remained.
“Following a careful review begun in July, we have reached the conclusion that there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a U.S.-Russia summit in early September,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.
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