A second summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been put on hold, a White House official confirmed to the Washington Examiner Tuesday morning.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday ahead of an expected meeting in Budapest, Hungary, but that is no longer on the table.
“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call,” a White House official said. “Therefore, an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
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The cancellation is a key win for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited the White House last Friday and was reportedly pressured by Trump to concede Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, to Russia.
The two leaders met last Friday to discuss the more than 3 1/2-year war against Putin’s army and Zelensky’s request that Trump fund long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Trump reportedly pressured Zelensky to agree to concede key territories to Russia in the hopes it would lead to an end to the war, following Trump’s phone call with Putin on Thursday.
The over-two-hour meeting between Trump and Zelensky was contentious and devolved into a shouting match, according to the Financial Times, comparable to the infamous spat between the two leaders in the Oval Office in February.
The cancellation of Trump’s meeting with Putin is also a tacit acknowledgment that a ceasefire deal to end the war is no longer as feasible as Trump hoped. Zelensky will meet with European leaders this week following the meeting with Trump.