Obama Cancels Meeting With Putin as Edward Snowden Adds to Tensions. President Obama has cancelled a planned summit with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, senior administration officials said Wednesday, a response to frustration with the Russian government for refusing to send Edward J. Snowden to the United States to face charges of leaking national security secrets. The move is also a reflection of growing tensions between the two countries on a series of other issues, including Mr. Putin’s continuing support of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria. Mr. Obama is scheduled to be in St. Petersburg for a meeting of the Group of 20 set for Sept. 5 and 6, and had planned to go from there to meet Mr. Putin.