Planning for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is on hold at the moment, a White House official has told NBC.
Although previous consultations between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were described as “productive,” the US President believes the parties are not yet sufficiently prepared for full-fledged negotiations.
“Therefore, an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future,” the official said.
White House Says No Plans for Trump-Putin Meeting in Immediate Future
The call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was expected to lay the groundwork for a potential Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, Hungary.
“The Secretary emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump’s vision,” read a statement from the US Department of State.
Last week, Trump spoke with Putin and subsequently announced that he would meet the Russian president in Budapest to discuss a possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The US President told reporters that he expected to meet Putin “within two weeks or so” following their phone conversation.
Trump described his discussion with Putin as “very productive.” The call took place one day before he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
“At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our High-Level Advisors next week. The United States’ initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with other designated officials,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed-upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ war between Russia and Ukraine to an end,” he added.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin in recent weeks following their meeting in Alaska in August. That meeting yielded no concrete progress toward ending the war, and a proposed meeting between Putin and Zelensky has yet to materialize.
Also Read: Putin Threatened with Arrest if He Dares Fly Through Poland
U.S. President has signaled in recent days that the Washington may send long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, which would allow Ukrainian forces to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
Zelensky Ready to Join Trump-Putin Talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be ready to join Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a proposed summit in Hungary if invited.
On Monday, October 20, Zelenskyy told reporters: “If it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three, or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy… then in one format or another, we will agree.”
Meanwhile, media reports suggest that Zelenskyy’s White House meeting with Trump on Friday descended into a “shouting match,” with the US side urging Ukraine to accept Russia’s terms to end the war.
Zelenskyy was guarded during his first press briefing since the talks, but his comments made clear that significant disagreements remained between the two sides. He described the meeting as frank and said he had told Trump that his main aim was a just peace, not a quick one.
When asked by reporters on Friday if Zelenskyy would be involved in the meeting in Budapest, Trump said he wanted to “make it comfortable for everybody.” “We’ll be involved in threes, but it may be separated,” he added, noting that the three leaders “have to get together.”
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