WASHINGTON DC: US President Donald Trump stated he did not want a “wasted meeting” after plans for face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine were postponed.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump suggested that a major obstacle remained Russia’s refusal to halt fighting along the existing front lines.
Earlier, a White House official confirmed there were “no plans” for a Trump-Putin meeting in the near future, contradicting Trump’s earlier claim that talks would take place in Budapest within two weeks.
The growing gap between the US and Russian peace proposals this week appeared to end hopes for a summit. The two leaders last met in Alaska in August at a quickly arranged summit that produced no concrete outcomes.
The White House’s decision to shelve another meeting may be an effort to avoid a repeat of that situation. A senior European diplomat told Reuters that the Russians’ demands were too high, making a deal unlikely.
A planned preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was canceled after a “productive” phone call, with no further meeting deemed necessary.
On Monday, Trump supported a ceasefire proposal favored by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the conflict at the current front line, urging both sides to “stop fighting, stop killing people.”
However, Russia has repeatedly rejected freezing the front line. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s consistent stance, demanding a full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from eastern regions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized that Moscow seeks a “long-term, sustainable peace,” suggesting that freezing the front line would only be a temporary ceasefire.
(Inputs from BBC)
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