The planned Budapest summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been cancelled after Moscow reiterated hardline demands for ending the war in Ukraine.
U.S. officials decided to call off the meeting scheduled for later this month after Russia sent a formal memo outlining “maximalist” conditions, including demands that Ukraine cede additional territory, reduce its armed forces, and guarantee it will never join NATO. The summit had originally been agreed to by Trump and Putin in an effort to restart diplomatic discussion on the war in Ukraine.
However, after a tense phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Rubio told Trump Moscow was showing no willingness to negotiate, leading to the cancellation.
President Trump has backed Ukraine’s call for an immediate ceasefire on current lines, rejecting any suggestion of territorial concessions. The White House has not yet issued an official statement regarding the summit’s cancellation, but the decision underscores the growing impasse between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that while Ukraine is ready for peace talks, it will not agree to withdraw its troops from additional territory as Russia demands.
