ROUGH CUT.

NO REPORTER NARRATION.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday (November 29) told reporters U.S. President Donald Trump decided to cancel a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his flight to the G20 summit, and said she was not aware of a conversation between the two leaders about the cancellation.

Trump said he pulled out due to tensions over Russian forces opening fire on Ukrainian navy boats and then seizing them and their crew on Sunday near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

His decision also comes as a federal investigation into his 2016 election campaign's ties to Russia is intensifying.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump real estate project in Russia.

His announcement appeared to catch Moscow by surprise, with Russian officials getting their first news of it from the media.