No Trump-Putin meeting in foreseeable future — this is why

Moscow has rejected the possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine, stating that this idea contradicts the agreement reached by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska. Yet the Kremlin still wants the second meeting between the two in Budapest to proceed.

There are “no plans” for US President Donald Trump to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “in the immediate future”, a White House official stated on Tuesday.

Ukraine, together with the European allies, has called for a ceasefire at the current frontlines of Russia’s war, seeing it as a starting point for any further negotiations and ultimately any future deal.

Kyiv has not changed its stance and has been pushing for this plan since the beginning of the negotiations with Washington.

Moscow’s position hasn’t changed either. For the Kremlin, a ceasefire is off the table, but Russia still wants a meeting between Putin and Trump in Budapest to take place, two months after their Alaska summit.
For Trump, the current contact line is not the first step, but rather a final agreement to put an end to Moscow’s all-out war, now in its fourth year.

For Trump, the current contact line is not the first step, but rather a final agreement to put an end to Moscow’s all-out war, now in its fourth year.

After his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday, Trump said, “They should stop where they are. Let both claim victory.”

Trump added that he would meet his Russian counterpart in Budapest, “within two weeks or so, pretty quick”. But preparations for the summit might take longer and involve more negotiations.

To make this happen, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are set to meet before the presidential summit.

Overnight on Tuesday, US media outlets reported that even this first step could be postponed after the first phone call between Lavrov and Rubio, which reportedly demonstrated significant differences in the positions of Moscow and Washington.

When asked if the meeting between Rubio and Lavrov is now postponed, the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson called it an “information circus”.

The meeting was reportedly scheduled for Thursday, when the EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels to discuss Ukraine and European defence together with Zelenskyy.

Moscow blames Europe

European leaders and Zelenskyy issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for a ceasefire along the current front lines in Ukraine.

“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”

Sergey Lavrov accused the Europeans of pushing for a ceasefire to “resupply” Ukraine with weapons, saying this is the only reason why the EU, together with Ukraine, is insisting on a ceasefire deal.

‘Moreover, (French President Emmanuel) Macron said in the past that this ceasefire should be without any preconditions, including, he said publicly, (that) no one would be able to restrict arms supplies to Kyiv,” Lavrov said.

“The cat is out of the bag, and it immediately became clear why this ceasefire was needed.”

Lavrov also accused the EU of encouraging Kyiv to “attack civilian infrastructure and civilians on the territory of Russia,”

Russia has been continuously attacking Ukrainian civilian infrastructure across Ukraine for over three and a half years since the beginning of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.