A planned summit between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been postponed, casting uncertainty over ongoing attempts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as Moscow refuses to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
A senior White House official disclosed that “there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.” This follows a “productive” phone conversation between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, yet both parties chose not to move forward with an in-person meeting at this time.
Lavrov remarked that establishing the timing and location for the next summit was less crucial than solidifying the understandings made in prior meetings. The Kremlin echoed these sentiments, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating that “serious preparation” was necessary, and that no clear date had been set for the leaders’ next encounter.
Last week, Trump announced intentions to convene with Putin in Hungary in a bid to broker a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. However, Russia remains firm in its demands, insisting that Kyiv must concede more territory before any ceasefire is reached. The Kremlin has consistently maintained this condition throughout negotiations.
According to U.S. officials, Russia outlined its insistence on full control of the eastern Donbas region as a precondition for a ceasefire—effectively rejecting Trump’s call for freezing the conflict along existing battle lines. Presently, Russia occupies all of Luhansk province and around 75% of Donetsk, together comprising Donbas.
European officials, meanwhile, have urged Washington to uphold its demand for an immediate ceasefire with battle lines as they now stand serving as a baseline for future discussions. Some have voiced concern that Trump might return to the negotiating table with Putin without securing substantive concessions.
Trump had previously initiated dialogue with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, following a fruitless summit with the Russian leader in Alaska earlier in the year. His tone on Ukraine has shifted frequently, but after meeting Zelenskiy last Friday, he publicly embraced Kyiv’s stance for an immediate ceasefire at the current lines of control.
Reports, based on information from Reuters and other media, describe the closed-door meeting as contentious, with Trump pressing Zelenskiy to consider Russian terms for a settlement. However, Zelenskiy framed the White House encounter as a success given Trump’s public alignment with Ukraine’s preferred position.
European leaders are expected to meet with Zelenskiy this week during an EU summit and at a gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” which is examining a security arrangement for a post-war Ukraine—an idea Moscow rejects.
