Kremlin insists Trump-Putin summit preparations continue
Photo: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Putin’s special representative, Kirill Dmitriev, claims that preparations for the meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States are allegedly continuing, according to his post on the social network X.
According to Dmitriev, the media are allegedly distorting information that the meeting will not take place.
"Media is twisting comment about the 'immediate future' to undercut the upcoming Summit. Preparations continue," he wrote.
Background
On October 16, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation after which the US president announced a new summit to be held in Budapest.
Before the leaders meet, negotiations between their respective teams are set to take place. The US delegation is led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while Russia’s side is headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
On Monday, Rubio and Lavrov held a phone call to discuss further steps ahead of the Trump–Putin summit.
According to media reports, they were expected to meet later this week. However, on Tuesday, several Western outlets reported that their meeting had been postponed indefinitely.
No specific reason for the delay was given, but one CNN source said it was due to Russia’s position on ending the war in Ukraine having changed insufficiently compared with its earlier maximalist demands.
