Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov refused to be drawn on Friday as to whether US President Donald Trump will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Danang.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, when asked if the two leaders will have a face-to-face meeting, said: "there have been contradictory signals and we don't have full understanding yet."
But he added: "Both presidents are in town, and their paths will cross one way or another."
Their comments came as the White House announced that Trump and Putin will not hold a formal meeting.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, blamed scheduling conflicts on both sides, but said it was possible the leaders could have a less formal encounter in Danang or at a later regional conference in the Philippines.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that there was no reason to schedule a meeting if the US and Russia are unable to make significant progress on issues including Syria and Ukraine.
Both sides have been working to reach agreement on how they hope to resolve Syria's civil war once the Islamic State group is defeated.
The potential understanding comes as an array of forces are near a final defeat of IS, the extremist group that once controlled vast stretches of both Iraq and Syria.
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