White House: A summit between Biden and Putin is 'certainly not in the plans' at this point
In addition to the latest blow to the hopes of the Blinken-Lavrov meeting, rejections of the Biden-Putin summit also posed challenges to the market sentiment during early Wednesday morning in Asia.
Before a few minutes, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected the need for Thursday’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov while citing the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read: US Secretary Blinken: It doesn't make sense for me to meet with Russia's Lavrov anymore
Following that, the White House (WH) ruled out the scope of a summit between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which triggered optimism earlier in the week. WH also said that it is tracking reports of truck convoy that may be planning to travel to several US cities including washington, D.C. "Nord Stream 2 pipeline 'not moving forward at this point in time,'" added the White House.
Elsewhere, an anonymous US Diplomat was recently quoted saying, “US officials did not discuss increasing oil production during US trip to Saudi Arabia last week.”
The official also added, “OPEC countries understand our concerns about the importance of the stability of global oil markets.”
It should be noted that US satellite image company Maxar recently mentioned about new images that show new deployment in Belarus of more than 100 vehiclesm, dozens of troop tents. The update adds, "A new field hospital has been added to a military garrison in western Russia."
Market reactions
The risk-off mood gains pace with each negative headline concerning the Russia-Ukraine tensions, which in turn helps prices of oil and gold.
Read: WTI defends $91.00 on fears of Russian invasion, API data eyed
Author
Anil Panchal
FXStreet
Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.
