Putin–Trump summit paused after Russia rejects Ukraine ceasefire

A planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been put on hold after Moscow signalled it would not agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. A senior White House official said there were no plans for the leaders to meet in the near term, following a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that did not lead to an in-person engagement.

Trump, asked by reporters about the prospects for talks, said he had no interest in a “wasted meeting” but hinted that further developments could emerge within days. Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev insisted that preparations for a summit were still continuing, even as the path to talks narrowed.

According to officials familiar with the exchanges, Russia last weekend delivered a non-paper to Washington reiterating demands for full control of the Donbas region — a position at odds with Trump’s push for a ceasefire premised on freezing forces along the current front lines. Russia presently holds all of Luhansk and most of Donetsk. European capitals, meanwhile, urged Washington to stick to the immediate-ceasefire stance, with NATO chief Mark Rutte travelling to the US for consultations.

Diplomats said the postponement of a planned Rubio-Lavrov meeting in Budapest reflected Washington’s reluctance to proceed without clear concessions from Moscow. The Kremlin said no date had been set for a leaders’ summit and that any such encounter would require “serious preparation.”

European allies voiced concern that Trump could enter a second meeting with Putin without extracting significant movement from Russia. Leaders of major European powers publicly backed an immediate halt to fighting with the current line of contact as the basis for any negotiations. Kyiv, which says a ceasefire should freeze positions as they stand, welcomed US alignment with that view after Zelenskiy’s recent White House visit.