Trump Downplays Second Putin Summit as Ceasefire Dispute Halts Budapest Meeting
US President Donald Trump downplayed plans for a second summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the proposed Budapest meeting was put on hold amid disagreements over a Ukraine ceasefire.
“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting. I don’t want to have a waste of time. So I’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters during a Diwali celebration at the White House, reiterating his demand for an immediate ceasefire freezing current frontlines in Ukraine.
According to a White House official, the delay followed a “productive” call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Moscow has rejected Trump’s ceasefire terms, calling them inconsistent with prior understandings, while the US president has yet to decide on Kyiv’s request for Tomahawk missiles or on new sanctions against Russia.
