(Washington/Moscow) Following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday, US President Trump hinted that a high-level meeting would take place this week to discuss another Trump-Putin summit. However, sources indicate that Trump's hopes for a meeting with Putin may be dashed.
CNN reported on Monday (October 20), citing sources, that a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, originally scheduled for this week, for the Trump-Putin summit has been temporarily postponed. The reason for the cancellation is unclear, but sources indicate that Rubio and Lavrov disagreed on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday (October 21st) that the exact date for the US-Russia summit is still unknown, and neither side has disclosed a specific date.
The Kremlin stated that Lavrov and Rubio spoke by phone on Monday to discuss preparations for the Trump-Putin summit, and the two foreign ministers are expected to meet to finalize the details of the summit.
Trump previously said he might meet with Putin within two weeks, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference on Tuesday that the US and Russia had not initially set a firm timetable. When asked by reporters whether the summit would be postponed, Peskov replied, "You can't postpone something that hasn't been decided yet... You need to prepare, seriously prepare."
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Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire and insisted on a series of tough demands that Ukraine finds unacceptable. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to attend the Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, Hungary, but has ruled out making territorial concessions.
Trump has wavered over the past week on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, he told reporters that the United States would continue to push for an end to the conflict, but that he was not optimistic Ukraine could defeat Russia.
Trump, who just last month called Russia a paper tiger, said, "I don't think they (Ukraine) will win, although they still could. I never said they would win, I said they could win, and anything could happen."
Zelensky traveled to Washington last Friday to try to persuade Trump to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles. However, Trump, who had spoken with Putin by phone the day before, rejected Ukraine's demands and demanded that both sides reach an agreement to end the war.
In response, Zelensky told reporters on Sunday that he believed Trump was unwilling to take any action that might anger Putin before the Trump-Putin summit. Zelenskyy stated that his talks with Trump remained positive and that Ukraine was preparing to purchase 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States to bolster its defenses.
Sources revealed that Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy last Friday was heated. Trump demanded that Zelenskyy accept Putin's ceasefire conditions and cede significant territory to Russia, much to the dismay of the Ukrainian side.
