Summit in Budapest This is why the meeting between Trump and Putin was canceled
The upcoming summit between Trump and Putin is off the table for the time being. There is no official explanation, but Russia apparently does not want to back down from its maximum demands.
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- The imminent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has been canceled.
- The planned preparatory meeting at foreign minister level will also not take place.
- According to a media report, Russia had not moved far enough away from its maximum demands.
After a phone call between Trump and Putin, the US President announced a meeting between the two in Hungary's capital Budapest with much pathos. It was later said that the summit would "probably take place in the next two weeks". However, the White House said that there were "no plans" for a meeting "in the near future".
As the AP news agency reported, citing US government circles, the decision was made after a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. There were already indications that an imminent meeting between Trump and Putin would fail.
Russia insists on maximum stance
So far, not even the preparatory meeting at foreign minister level has taken place. The planned meeting between Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov is also on hold, as a White House representative explained.
Citing an informed person, the TV channel CNN reported that Rubio and Lavrov had different expectations regarding a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
After the telephone conversation between Rubio and Lavrov, the officials are said to have been of the opinion that the Russian position had not moved sufficiently away from their maximum stance.
"You can't postpone something that wasn't planned"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, indicated that there was no urgency regarding a meeting between the two heads of state. "Preparations are needed for this, serious preparations".
The summit could not be postponed either, as no date had ever been set. "You can't postpone something that wasn't planned", he told reporters.
The two heads of state had met in the US state of Alaska in mid-August. However, there was no progress towards a ceasefire in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Trump subsequently became increasingly frustrated with the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Recently, however, the US President seemed to be drawing closer to Putin again. He publicly called for territories in the eastern Ukrainian Donbass to be ceded in line with the current front line.
