Despite President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of an imminent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US officials confirmed Tuesday that no such gathering is planned for the near future. The clarification represents a diplomatic reality check on Trump’s optimistic social media declarations about bilateral relations.
Following a Monday telephone conversation between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, American officials have concluded that no further in-person diplomatic meetings are required at this time. This decision effectively shelves Trump’s announced Budapest summit, which he claimed would occur within two weeks.
The US official, speaking anonymously, characterized the Rubio-Lavrov phone call as “productive,” though the positive description did not translate into concrete plans for a presidential meeting. The Kremlin has adopted a similar cautious stance, with Russian officials stating Tuesday that no “precise timeframe” has been established for a Trump-Putin summit.
The confusion surrounding potential summit plans originated from a Thursday telephone call between Trump and Putin, which the American president interpreted as significant diplomatic progress. Trump’s optimism prompted him to announce on social media that he would meet Putin in Budapest within two weeks, timing the declaration to occur just before his planned discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about potentially providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.
Trump’s handling of relations with Putin has been characterized by sudden policy reversals, including his August decision to host Putin in Alaska, marking the Russian leader’s first appearance on Western soil since initiating the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While Trump has repeatedly boasted about his ability to leverage personal chemistry with Putin to end the war quickly, he has recently admitted to experiencing frustrations in dealing with the Russian president.