Putin-Trump summit on hold after Russia rejects ceasefire proposal
Russia earlier sent Washington a private “non-paper” over the weekend reiterating its demand for full control of the Donbas region, rejecting Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire that would freeze fighting along current frontlines.
WASHINGTON: A planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been put on hold after Moscow rejected an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, clouding efforts to restart negotiations to end the war, officials said on Tuesday (Oct 21).
A senior White House official told Reuters there were “no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future” after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opted against holding a planned in-person meeting in Budapest this week.
Trump had announced last week that he and Putin would meet soon in Hungary to push forward peace efforts, but Moscow’s refusal to consider concessions has stalled preparations. Russia has insisted that Ukraine must cede more territory before any ceasefire can take effect.
MOSCOW REAFFIRMS DEMANDS IN SECRET COMMUNIQUE
According to two US officials and two other sources familiar with the matter, Russia sent Washington a private “non-paper” over the weekend reiterating its demand for full control of the Donbas region, including all of Luhansk and about 75 per cent of Donetsk.
The document effectively rejected Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire that would freeze fighting along current frontlines. “I guess the Russians wanted too much,” a senior European diplomat said.
European leaders on Tuesday urged Washington to maintain pressure on Moscow to accept an immediate ceasefire with existing battle lines as the starting point for talks.
NATO CHIEF IN WASHINGTON FOR TALKS
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Washington on Tuesday for talks with Trump, which two sources said would take place on Wednesday. A Western official said Rutte planned to present Europe’s unified position in favour of an immediate halt to fighting and a negotiated settlement based on current territorial control.
Trump, who spoke by phone with Putin last week and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, had hoped to hold another high-profile summit with the Russian leader after their August meeting in Alaska failed to yield results.
However, a preparatory meeting between Rubio and Lavrov, expected in Budapest on Thursday, was postponed. The Kremlin said “serious preparation” was required and that no date had been finalised.
“Neither President Trump nor President Putin gave exact dates,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There is no understanding yet.”
EUROPE WARNS OF STALLED DIPLOMACY
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, whose government had been preparing to host the summit, wrote on Facebook: “We have some serious days ahead.”
But two senior European diplomats said the postponed meeting suggested Washington was unwilling to proceed unless Russia softened its stance. “The Russians haven’t changed their position and are not agreeing to ‘stop where they are’,” one diplomat said. “I assume Lavrov gave the same spiel, and Rubio was like: ‘See you later.’”
European powers, including Britain, France and Germany, released a joint statement supporting Trump’s position that fighting should stop immediately and that the current line of contact should form the basis for future negotiations.
EUROPEANS FEAR TRUMP MAY CONCEDE TOO MUCH
Some European allies have privately expressed concern that Trump could meet Putin again without securing meaningful concessions.
Reports from last week’s closed-door Trump–Zelenskyy meeting suggested tensions ran high, with the US president pressing Kyiv to accept some Russian conditions. Zelenskyy, however, described the talks as a success after Trump publicly endorsed Ukraine’s long-held ceasefire position.
European leaders are expected to meet Zelenskyy later this week at an EU summit and a separate gathering of “coalition of the willing” countries discussing a multinational force to guarantee a post-war settlement, a proposal Moscow has rejected.
The choice of Budapest as the potential summit venue has also raised tensions within the European Union, where Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintains close ties with Moscow.
Poland warned it could intercept and detain Putin’s aircraft if it entered Polish airspace en route to Hungary, while Bulgaria said it would allow the flight if a summit were confirmed.
