Budapest summit postponed as Putin rejects Trump’s ceasefire proposal – Atlantic Council
U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for a quick summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been delayed. A senior administration official told CNN that there are “no plans” for a meeting “in the immediate future.”
This pause comes days after Trump suggested that the two leaders might meet “within two weeks or so.” That timeline now appears off the table. Speaking to reporters, Trump said he did not want the meeting to be “a waste of time.” He added that updates would come “in the next two days.”
After a phone call last Thursday, Trump said both sides had agreed to hold a meeting between top advisors. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to prepare for the summit.
However, several officials said that diplomatic engagement had stopped for now. One source revealed that Rubio and Lavrov disagreed on how to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two spoke again on Monday.
“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call,” an administration official said Tuesday. “An in-person meeting is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet President Putin soon.”
Though the U.S. described the call as “productive,” sources said the Russian stance had not changed enough to justify a summit. Rubio is unlikely to recommend moving forward until progress is visible.
Lavrov rejected Trump’s idea of freezing the conflict — a proposal that Ukraine and Europe supported in recent talks. The Kremlin had already signaled that a Trump-Putin summit might take longer to organize, mentioning Budapest, Hungary, as a possible venue.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no date was ever confirmed. “You cannot postpone what has not been scheduled,” he told reporters.
The White House insisted that Trump remains committed to ending the war. “President Trump has consistently worked toward a peaceful resolution,” said spokesperson Anna Kelly. “He will do everything in his power to achieve peace.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia grew less open to diplomacy after the U.S. decided not to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles. “When long-range options became distant for Ukraine, Russia became less interested in diplomacy,” Zelensky said Tuesday. He added, “The stronger Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, the closer we are to peace.”
Officials in Washington now believe that another Rubio-Lavrov meeting is unnecessary. A senior source said Lavrov has limited authority to influence key decisions, and phone discussions are enough to gauge Russia’s position.
The future of any Trump-Putin summit remains uncertain, with both sides signaling caution amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
#TrumpPutinSummit #UkraineWar #USRussiaRelations #MarcoRubio #VolodymyrZelensky