US President Donald Trump would miss an opportunity to discuss controversial topics and demonstrate the independence of his foreign policy by cancelling a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a Russian senior lawmaker said on Thursday.

"It is wrong to assume that the Russian side needs this meeting more," Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, said on Facebook.

To clarify controversial issues, including acute incidents at sea, it is necessary to hold personal talks between the two presidents, he wrote, adding that Trump's decision to call off the meeting with Putin is regretful, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," Trump tweeted earlier in the day.

The Kremlin said hours ago that Putin and Trump would meet on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit to discuss bilateral relations, strategic security, disarmament and regional conflicts.

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