A planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest has been postponed after Moscow refused to accept a proposed ceasefire in Ukraine, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
The delay comes as both Washington and Kyiv accuse the Kremlin of hardening its stance on peace talks, demanding Ukraine surrender additional territory before any negotiations resume.
Two U.S. officials and diplomats familiar with the situation said Russia had reiterated its longstanding conditions in a confidential “non-paper” sent to Washington last weekend. The document outlined Moscow’s insistence that Ukraine recognise Russian control over occupied areas before any ceasefire could take effect.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there was “no understanding” yet of a new date for the summit, which Trump announced last week as part of a push to “bring an end” to the nearly three-year-old war.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s interest in diplomacy had “almost automatically decreased” following delays in the U.S. decision to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
“The greater the Ukrainian long-range capability, the greater the Russian willingness to end the war,” Zelensky said in his nightly address. He added that the missiles had become “a strong investment in diplomacy” and that Kyiv would continue discussions with U.S. and European partners on long-range weapons.
Trump and Zelensky had agreed that any ceasefire talks should begin from the sides’ current positions on the battlefield — a stance supported by Kyiv’s European allies.
European leaders, including those from Britain, France, and Germany, issued a joint statement reaffirming support for Trump’s ceasefire position. They warned, however, that the White House should not proceed with a summit unless Russia offered concrete concessions.
The choice of Hungary as the summit venue had already caused unease within the European Union. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán remains one of the few EU leaders to maintain close ties with Moscow despite the invasion of Ukraine.
Any visit by Putin would require him to fly through EU airspace, and Poland has warned it could intercept his plane under an international arrest warrant. Bulgaria, by contrast, has indicated it would allow Russian passage to Budapest.
While neither Washington nor Moscow has formally cancelled the summit, U.S. officials said the meeting would not go ahead until Russia shows “genuine intent” to halt its offensive.