WASHINGTON(National times)- US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he canceled a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts and a sense that the timing was off. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin — it just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future.” Trump also expressed frustration with the stalled negotiations. “In terms of honesty, the only thing I can say is, every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” he said. The summit cancellation came as the White House unveiled new sanctions targeting Russian oil exports, part of a broader effort to pressure Moscow over its continued military operations in Ukraine. Trump said he hoped the measures would be temporary.

‘USE OF LONG-RANGE MISSILES FOR UKRAINE NOT APPROVED’

President Trump said that a news report on the United States giving approval to Ukraine to use long-range missiles deep into Russia was false, adding the US “has nothing to do with those missiles.” The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified US officials, reported earlier on Wednesday that the Trump administration had lifted a restriction on Ukraine’s use of some long-range missiles provided by Western allies. Trump said on Truth Social that the Journal story on “the U.S.A.’s approval of Ukraine being allowed to use long range missiles deep into Russia” was false. “The US has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them!,” Trump added.