Kremlin spokesman says unprepared summits waste time, confirms Putin ready to meet Trump

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called summits without preparation a waste of time, while confirming Vladimir Putin's readiness to meet with Donald Trump. The statement comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York. The Lavrov-Rubio talks are set for Wednesday, September 23, at 09:00 local time (16:00 Moscow time) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's high-level week. The meeting will include protocol photo and video coverage for accredited journalists. Lavrov is expected to address the assembly on September 26. The 81st session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 8, with general debates running from September 22-26 and September 28. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Ukraine will be a central topic in Lavrov's UN meetings due to circulating fakes and disinformation. Lavrov stated Russia will not agree to deals without a balance of interests.