Washington, October 22 – US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been postponed, saying he does not want it to be a “waste of time.” The decision marks a new twist in Trump’s ongoing efforts to mediate an end to the war in Ukraine.
As per agency report, the meeting between Trump and Putin was scheduled to take place in Budapest, Hungary, but it was postponed following discussions on Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Trump said he preferred not to engage in an “unproductive meeting” and would wait to see how the situation develops.
Lavrov publicly stated on Tuesday that Russia remains opposed to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Throughout the year, Trump has shifted his stance on key aspects of the war — including whether a ceasefire should precede long-term peace talks and whether Ukraine can reclaim territories seized by Russia during nearly four years of conflict.
European leaders have repeatedly accused Putin of using diplomacy to buy time and strengthen his position on the battlefield. Trump’s reluctance to meet the Russian leader has therefore been seen as a relief in European capitals. Leaders from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have emphasized that Ukraine should not be pressured into surrendering any of its occupied territories, an idea Trump had recently hinted at.
These leaders are also advancing plans to use billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s war efforts, despite lingering concerns about the legality and potential consequences of such measures.
Trump and Putin last met in August in Alaska, but that encounter failed to move forward Trump’s initiative to broker an end to the war, which began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has shown little urgency in arranging another meeting between the two leaders. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that any future talks would require “serious preparation.” Trump concluded by saying that a final decision regarding the meeting would be made in the coming days.
