Kremlin "has no understanding" of when Trump-Putin summit might take place

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said there are no confirmed dates for a summit between the leaders of the United States and Russia.

As reported by Russian state-run media outlet Interfax, Peskov said that neither US President Donald Trump nor Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had named a specific date for the meeting.

"Serious preparation is required. You have heard statements from both the American side and ours that this could take some time. Therefore, there have been no specific dates mentioned initially," he said.

Peskov was commenting on media reports suggesting that the meeting between the two leaders could be postponed.

He added that, as of now, "there is no understanding" of when such a summit might take place, noting that proposals related to the planned meeting in Budapest cannot be discussed in a "shouting-from-the-rooftops manner".

"Of course, announcing proposals cannot take place in this, you know, 'shouting-from-the-rooftops manner'. This is still quite a discreet process that must remain so in the interests of the process itself and its effectiveness," Peskov concluded.

Earlier, CNN reported that a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov which was scheduled for this week has been postponed for unknown reasons.

The meeting had been intended as preparation for organising the Trump-Putin summit.

Moscow has described media reports about the postponed meeting between the US secretary of state and the Russian foreign minister as "inaccurate".

The possible date for the Rubio-Lavrov meeting had been reported as 23 October. Media have also suggested that the delay in the diplomats' talks could mean a postponement of the Trump-Putin summit.