MOSCOW: Russia announced on Tuesday that there is currently no confirmed date for a planned summit between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on the Ukraine conflict, dampening expectations for a quick meeting.
After a phone call last week, both leaders said they intended to meet in Budapest to discuss solutions to the war in Ukraine, which began after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, preparations are moving slower than expected.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed summit preparations on Monday and are expected to meet in person soon. Trump suggested the meeting could take place within two weeks, but Russian officials now indicate that more time is needed.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “no precise timeframe was initially set,” adding that the summit requires “serious preparation.” When asked whether the meeting might be postponed, he replied, “You can’t postpone something that hasn’t been set in stone.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said it was too early to speak about details of any preparatory meeting between Lavrov and Rubio, noting that the meeting was not specifically discussed during recent calls.
Trump, who has previously claimed he could end the Ukraine war within hours, has openly expressed frustration with both Russia and Ukraine over stalled peace efforts.
A previous meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska ended without any major progress toward peace. Meanwhile, Ukraine maintains that any real progress requires a direct meeting between Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky, but Moscow has ruled out talks with Zelensky unless a peace framework is nearly finalized.
