Trump-Putin Budapest meeting on Ukraine war put on hold days after proposal as talks stall over territorial demands

Plans for a proposed meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest have been put on hold, just days after it was floated as a potential step toward ending the war in Ukraine.

The White House confirmed there were “no plans” for a Trump-Putin summit “in the immediate future,” saying recent diplomatic efforts had failed to make a breakthrough toward a ceasefire. The development comes as Ukraine and its European allies continue to insist that any peace talks must not involve territorial concessions from Kyiv.

The pause followed a Monday phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Trump’s push to mediate peace between Kyiv and Moscow has repeatedly hit turbulence. His earlier meeting with Putin in Alaska in August yielded few breakthroughs.

The Kremlin, for its part, downplayed expectations. “I want to officially confirm: Russia has not changed its position compared to the understandings that were reached during the Alaska summit.” Sergei Lavrov had told Rubio this the day before, he added.

During a recent phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow reportedly offered to surrender parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces currently under Russian control in exchange for full control of Donetsk, which is an industrial area and military stronghold long coveted by the Kremlin.

However, Kyiv considers Donetsk the gateway to central Ukraine and has resisted any territorial concessions.

ZELENSKYY FRUSTRATED BY DELAYS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government remained “on the same page” as its Western allies but expressed frustration that Russia had grown “less interested” in serious peace talks following Trump’s hesitation to authorise the supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy met Trump in Washington on Friday, a day after Trump’s call with Putin. The meeting was reportedly tense, with the idea of Ukraine accepting limited territorial concessions raised by Trump.

PUTIN WILL DESTROY YOU, WARNS TRUMP

In a White House meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump warned that Vladimir Putin had vowed to “destroy” Ukraine if he refused. At one point, Trump reportedly tossed aside Ukraine’s military maps, saying he was “sick” of seeing them and did not even recognise “this red line” marking the front.

Kyiv firmly rejected the notion, insisting that its borders remain non-negotiable. However, its request for long-range Tomahawk missiles — capable of striking Russian targets up to 1,000 miles away — was also rejected.

Ukraine believes access to Tomahawk missiles could allow their forces to target Russian military-industrial complexes and oil facilities deep within Russia, putting pressure on Moscow to negotiate from a position of weakness. The Kremlin has warned that such strikes would be viewed as escalatory.

– Ends

With inputs form agencies

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