Trump-Putin summit ‘on hold’ – US media
Preparations for the proposed Russia-US summit expected to be held in Budapest, Hungary, have been put “on hold,” American media outlets reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous officials.
There are no plans for US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet “in the immediate future,” Reuters has reported, citing a senior White House staffer.
Likewise, White House correspondent Garrett Haake reported that planning for the summit in Budapest is now “on hold,” also citing an unnamed senior official who also explained why the planned meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was scrapped.
“Initial call between Sec. Rubio & FM Lavrov was ‘productive,’ but POTUS believes both sides aren’t ready enough to talk to justify moving forward right now,” Haake wrote on X.
The anonymously sourced reports follows a CNN story, also citing unnamed sources, that claimed preparations for the summit “had been tabled, at least for now.” The CNN reporting prompted a reaction from senior Russian officials, who rejected the assertions made in the piece.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told media on Tuesday that preparations for the “significant event” were still underway, while reports about the postponement of the summit were “infodumps” intended to disrupt. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also mocked the anonymous sources reporting as a Western media “info-circus.”
The Kremlin and the White House confirmed that the talks would take place in the Hungarian capital after Putin and Trump spoke by phone last Thursday. Neither party, however, has officially provided a timeframe for the meeting.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that “serious preparations are needed” ahead of the summit. “You’ve heard statements from the American side and from our own that this may take time. So, no definite timeframe has been established,” he added.
