Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
There are currently no plans for U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet in the immediate future, Reuters reported on Oct. 21, citing an undisclosed White House official.
According to the news agency’s source, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also do not plan to meet in person in the near future, though they held a “productive” call on Oct. 20.
The news follows Trump’s announcement on Oct. 16 that he would meet Putin in Budapest in the coming weeks to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake said on X that the planning for the Budapest summit is “on hold” at the moment, according to an undisclosed senior White House official.
Similar information was reported by the BBC and CBS News.
The unexpected turn of events comes only hours after Russian officials said that preparatory work for the Budapest summit is still ongoing, though no date has been agreed upon.
The summit, hosted by Hungary’s Moscow-friendly prime minister, Viktor Orban, was set to be the second meeting between Putin and Trump since the latter returned to office in January. The two leaders met in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss a path toward ending the war in Ukraine, but made little progress.
The planned high-level talks, met with surprise in Kyiv and other European capitals, were to be preceded by meetings between senior U.S. and Russian advisors, led by Rubio and Lavrov, respectively.
Following a phone call between the two top diplomats earlier this week, CNN reported that, according to sources, their in-person meeting had been postponed due to divergent views and Russia’s “maximalist” stance.
Trump announced plans for the summit only a day before meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. While Ukraine was hoping to secure deals for new U.S. arms, especially Tomahawk missiles, Trump reportedly pressed on Zelensky to accept Russia’s territorial demands for the entire Donetsk Oblast.
The U.S. president later denied asking Ukraine to cede unoccupied territories, suggesting instead a ceasefire along the current front lines.
Kyiv and its European partners have backed this proposal, while Moscow has rejected it, demanding that what it calls the “root causes” of the conflict be addressed.
Read also: Why does Russia want Donbas? 6 things to know about the region Ukraine is being pressured to give up
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