Kremlin says Putin–Trump meeting 'not needed' at the moment
Photo: US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (GettyImages)
There is currently no need for a meeting between Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to resolve the war in Ukraine, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in comments to Russian media.
He noted that a summit between Russia and the United States at the highest level is not necessary at the moment.
"Hypothetically speaking, such a meeting is possible, but for now there is no need for it. What is needed now is very thorough work on the details of a settlement," he said.
Background
On October 16, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin announced after a phone conversation their intention to hold a personal meeting within two weeks. Budapest was chosen as the possible venue for the summit.
Preparations for the talks were to be coordinated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, Trump later canceled the meeting.
According to media reports, the reason was that Russia had not changed its maximalist demands regarding the conditions for ending the war in Ukraine. Trump himself publicly stated that he didn't "want to waste time."
Shortly afterward, on the night of October 23, the United States imposed new sanctions against Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. The US Department of the Treasury at the same time urged Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire.
President Trump said he was ready for a new meeting with Putin but only if a real agreement to end the war in Ukraine could be reached. The Kremlin, in turn, confirmed that Putin was allegedly ready for talks, but the date of the summit has not yet been set.
