Trump-Putin Summit ‘On Hold,’ US Media Reports
The planned meeting involving the two leaders in Budapest is said to have been postponed indefinitely
American media sources, quoting unnamed officials, reported on Tuesday that preparations for the anticipated Russia-US summit, slated for Budapest, Hungary, have been placed “on hold.”
Reuters, referencing a high-ranking White House staffer, stated that there are currently no intentions for US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to convene “in the immediate future.”
Similarly, White House correspondent Garrett Haake conveyed that arrangements for the Budapest summit are presently “on hold,” also attributing this to an anonymous senior official who additionally clarified the cancellation of the scheduled meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The initial discussion between Sec. Rubio and FM Lavrov was ‘productive,’ however, POTUS feels that both parties are not sufficiently prepared for talks to warrant proceeding at this time,” Haake posted on X.
These reports, based on anonymous sources, come after a CNN article, also citing unidentified sources, which asserted that summit preparations “had been deferred, at least temporarily.” This CNN report elicited a response from senior Russian officials, who refuted the claims within the story.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov informed the media on Tuesday that work for the “significant event” was continuing, and that accounts of the summit’s postponement were “infodumps” aimed at causing disruption. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova further derided the anonymous source reporting as a Western media “info-circus.”
The Kremlin and the White House had confirmed that discussions would occur in the Hungarian capital following Putin and Trump’s phone call last Thursday. Nevertheless, neither side has officially stated a timeline for the meeting.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that “serious preparations are required” prior to the summit. He further stated, “You’ve heard declarations from both the American side and our own that this could take time. Therefore, no precise timeframe has been set.”