“We see lots of strategic questions on the agenda that should be tackled on the level of two presidents. There is no way for these problems to be solved on a lower level. We understand that lots of questions are coming from the American side that also should be discussed by the presidents,” Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s long-serving press secretary, told RT’s Sophie Shevardnadze in a sit-down interview.

He believes that the absence of prolonged face-to-face talks between the two leaders since the Helsinki summit last summer has key issues "idling" and "contradicts the national interests of our two countries," adding that there is only so much Russia can do on its own.

"We can't be holier than the Pope," Peskov surmised, speaking in English.

Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled sideline meeting with Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires late last year over the Ukrainian ship incident near Kerch Strait between Crimea and mainland Russia, though the two held a brief informal chat.

The US president has announced that he may meet with the Russian leader during the upcoming G20 summit in Japan later this month, but Peskov insisted that no official request has come from the White House, and reiterated that the ball remains in America’s court.

"From the very beginning President Putin insisted that we were ready to go ahead as long and as advanced as our American counterparts are ready to. Unfortunately, now we see that they are not ready to advance at all," said Peskov.

”But President Putin is quite an experienced and quite a patient president of quite a patient country."

Peskov added that the Russian leader has made it his mission to “repair this damage that was done by President Obama during last month of his presidency."

RT

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