Both the White House and the Kremlin have confirmed that no immediate meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled, despite Trump’s recent social media announcement promising such an encounter within two weeks in Budapest. The synchronized messaging from both capitals represents a rare moment of agreement between Washington and Moscow.
The clarification came Tuesday following a Monday telephone conversation between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. While the call was initially intended to lay groundwork for a presidential summit, US officials have concluded that no further in-person diplomatic meetings are required at this time, and no immediate Trump-Putin gathering is planned.
A US administration official, speaking anonymously, described the Rubio-Lavrov phone call as “productive,” suggesting meaningful dialogue occurred despite the absence of concrete summit plans. The Kremlin echoed this uncertainty Tuesday, stating that no “precise timeframe” has been established for arranging a meeting between Trump and Putin.
The diplomatic uncertainty began last Thursday after a telephone conversation between Trump and Putin that the American president initially celebrated as progress. Trump’s enthusiasm prompted him to announce on social media that he would meet Putin within two weeks in Budapest, timing the announcement to occur just before his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the potential provision of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Trump’s relationship with Putin has been marked by sudden policy shifts, including the controversial August meeting in Alaska that represented Putin’s first visit to Western territory since ordering the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While Trump has repeatedly claimed his personal connection with Putin would allow him to end the war within a day of returning to the White House, he has recently admitted to experiencing frustrations with the Russian leader.
