Putin-Trump summit on hold after Russia rejects ceasefire

Reuters:

Oct 21 – A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiations.

A senior White House official told Reuters “there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future” after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a “productive call” but opted against an in-person meeting.

Trump had announced last week that he and Putin would meet soon in Hungary to try to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. But Putin has been unwilling to consider concessions. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine agree to cede more territory before any ceasefire.

Trump, asked by reporters about the prospect for a summit, said he did not want to have a “wasted meeting” but suggested there could be more developments and that “we’ll be notifying you over the next two days” about them.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, said in a social media post that “preparations continue” for a summit.

Russia reiterated its long-standing terms for a peace deal in a private communique known as a “non paper” that it sent to the U.S. last weekend, according to two U.S. officials and two people familiar with the situation.