President Trump’s planned second summit with Vladimir Putin was shelved indefinitely Tuesday after Russia signaled it isn’t interested in a new U.S. proposal for Ukraine peace negotiations.
Just a few days after Trump announced the forthcoming summit, the meeting planned for Budapest, Hungary, was put on pause after a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
“There are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future,” a White House official said.
The Russians have said they aren’t on board with Trump’s latest suggestion that a ceasefire would freeze the current frontlines between invading Russian troops and Ukraine in the occupied Donbas region.
“Russia’s position has remained largely unchanged,” Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
“Preparation is needed, serious preparation” before a fresh meeting between Trump and Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.
Ukraine and its European allies may be breathing a sigh of relief that Putin, considered a master manipulator, won’t get another chance to bend Trump’s ear in person.
Trump, who has flip-flopped several times in recent months on Ukraine, seemed ready to adopt Kremlin talking points again after a phone call with Putin last week.
A face-to-face meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday reportedly turned tense, with Trump rebuffing Kyiv’s request for U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles to strike deeper into Russia.
European leaders oppose pressuring Ukraine to surrender occupied land although Ukraine supports a ceasefire along the current front lines to permit peace talks to start.
Putin believes the military momentum is on his side and has told Trump he would only stop the war if Ukraine cedes all of the Donbas. Ukraine still holds about 28% of the region after 3-1/2 years of the Russian invasion.
Trump did not immediately comment on the summit delay.
The two leaders’ first summit of Trump’s second term in Alaska produced no breakthrough, but Trump insisted it was a success.
Zelenskyy has been talking up what he says is Ukraine’s improved position on the battlefield ahead of the looming winter, when major offensives are practically impossible.
He says the only way to peace is to increase attacks on Russia’s military heartland.
“We need to end this war, and only pressure will lead to peace,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday in a Telegram post.
Trump’s stance on the war has swung wildly in recent months, making it difficult for allies to maintain a united front with Kyiv or predict where the war might be headed next.
He initially focused on pressuring Ukraine to make concessions and carried out a shouting match with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. He later grew frustrated with Putin’s hardline stance and refusal to make any concessions to make progress toward talks.
