Despite what has been described as diplomatic progress between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, no immediate summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned, a US official confirmed Tuesday. The announcement directly contradicts Trump’s recent social media posts about meeting Putin in Budapest within two weeks.
The Monday telephone conversation between Rubio and Lavrov was characterized as “productive” by the anonymous US administration official, suggesting meaningful dialogue occurred between the two nations’ top diplomats. However, American officials have concluded that no further in-person ministerial meetings are required, and consequently, no near-term presidential summit will take place.
Russian officials have adopted a similar non-committal stance regarding summit timing, with the Kremlin announcing Tuesday that there is no “precise timeframe” for organizing a Trump-Putin meeting. The cautious messaging from both Washington and Moscow contrasts sharply with Trump’s earlier enthusiastic announcements about imminent bilateral talks.
The diplomatic uncertainty began last Thursday following a telephone conversation between Trump and Putin that the American president initially celebrated as a breakthrough moment. Trump’s interpretation of the call prompted him to quickly announce on social media that he would meet Putin within two weeks in Budapest, timing the declaration to coincide with his upcoming meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the potential provision of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Trump’s handling of relations with Putin has been characterized by dramatic policy shifts, including the controversial August meeting in Alaska that marked Putin’s first appearance on Western soil since launching the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Despite Trump’s previous boasts about his ability to leverage personal chemistry with Putin to end the war quickly, he has recently acknowledged experiencing frustrations in dealing with the Russian president.