WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Meanwhile, a senior US administration official told RIA Novosti on Thursday that Obama and Putin will discuss the current situation in Ukraine on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"President Obama will take advantage of this meeting to discuss Ukraine, and he will be focused on ensuring Moscow lives up to the Minsk commitments. This will be the core message of this bilateral engagement," the official said.
The White House official noted the meeting between the two leaders would take place at the request of President Putin.
"Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the President [Obama] believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians," the official said.
Vladimir Putin is also set to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York, the Kremlin spokesman said.
"Putin will address the General Assembly and will hold talks with [UN Secretary General] Ban Ki-moon," Peskov told reporters.
Putin will lead a Russian delegation and will address the UN General Assembly about the crises in Ukraine and Syria as well as the international fight against terrorism.
The Russian president will also speak about the issue of sanctions as a unilateral measure in his address. Putin’s speech is scheduled for the morning of September 28, and will be his first address at the UN since 2005.
Obama is also expected to address the General Assembly on September 28. The annual general debate at the UN General Assembly will take place on September 28 — October 3.
