Trump halts Budapest meeting with Putin, calling it a potential "waste of time" after Russia's rejection of ceasefire along current lines, following Rubio-Lavrov call yielding no breakthroughs.
Builds on Alaska talks' failure; Moscow insists on full Donbas cession and Zelenskyy ouster, clashing with US/EU push for immediate halt and security guarantees.
Zelenskyy sees delay as Russian ploy to prolong war; Europe advances €140bn aid plan, while Trump eyes future talks amid Ukraine's denied Tomahawk requests and frontline strains.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukraine war are off for now, citing his aversion to unproductive encounters as Moscow dug in on territorial demands. The abrupt reversal, announced just days after Trump touted an imminent Budapest summit, underscores deepening frustrations in US-Russia diplomacy, with the White House halting preparations following a "productive" but fruitless call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump explained, "I don’t want to have a waste of time, so I’ll see what happens," emphasizing that without meaningful progress, the meeting risked becoming a "wasted meeting." The summit, envisioned in Hungary,a venue criticized for Prime Minister Viktor Orban's pro-Russia stance, followed Trump's recent phone call with Putin and a tense White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on October 17, where Trump rebuffed requests for long-range Tomahawk missiles while pushing for a ceasefire along current frontlines.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed the cancellation, insisting no firm dates were set and that understandings from the leaders' August Alaska summit remain in play, though Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's unchanged "maximalist" position: full Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk and Luhansk regions, ousting Zelensky, and rejection of European security guarantees. Zelensky welcomed the delay, accusing Russia of stalling to prolong the conflict nearing its fourth year, while European leaders—meeting this week with Kyiv—backed Trump's ceasefire idea but urged stronger US leverage, including a €140 billion loan from frozen Russian assets.
