Putin, Obama to meet at G20 summit

WASHINGTON, May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said he is looking forward to meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Mexico.

Putin announced he would be unable to attend a scheduled G8 summit in Camp David planned for next week because of his commitments to finalize Cabinet appoints in a new Russian government.

The summit for the Group of Eight industrialized nations was moved from Chicago to the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland to accommodate Putin's reluctance to attend a coinciding NATO conference in Illinois, The Moscow Times reported.

The White House, in a readout of a telephone conversation between the two leaders, said Obama expressed regret, but understanding, that Putin's schedule interfered with the G8 summit.

"The two presidents reiterated their interest in the sustained high-level dialogue that has characterized the reset of relations, and the substantial progress of the last three years on issues like nuclear security and non-proliferation, Afghanistan, the World Trade Organization, and increased trade and commercial ties," a White House statement said.

Obama and Putin agreed to meet in June during a summit for the G20 in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Putin announced he would send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Camp David in his place.