Trump-Putin summit delayed after top diplomats’ meeting postponed

MOSCOW

Plans for a new summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been delayed after a pre-meeting between their top foreign affairs officials was postponed, media reports said on Tuesday.

Trump had said earlier this week that “high-level advisors” from both countries would meet to prepare for a potential summit in Budapest, Hungary, following a call with Putin, according to CNN.

He wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. delegation would be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio “together with various other people, to be designated.”

However, a White House official told CNN that the expected meeting between Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “has been put on hold for the time being.”

No reason was immediately provided for the delay, though one source said the two sides held differing views on a possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“President Trump has consistently worked towards finding a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to end this senseless war and to stop the killing,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly.

“He has courageously engaged parties on all sides and will do everything in his power to achieve peace.”

According to a U.S. State Department readout, Rubio and Lavrov spoke by phone on Monday and discussed “next steps” to follow up on last week’s Trump-Putin call.

Rubio “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.”

The Kremlin described the conversation as “constructive” and focused on “possible concrete steps to implement the understandings” reached between the two presidents.

A source familiar with the talks told CNN that after the call, U.S. officials concluded that “the Russian position has not evolved enough beyond its maximalist stance.”

For now, Rubio is not expected to recommend that the Trump-Putin meeting proceed next week, though further discussions between the two diplomats remain possible.

The last Trump-Putin summit took place more than two months ago in Anchorage, Alaska, lasting nearly three hours without producing a deal.

Trump has since urged Kiev and Moscow to “stop the war immediately.”