Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest canceled over Russia's hardline demands – FT
Photo: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
The United States canceled President Donald Trump’s meeting in Budapest with Russian president Vladimir Putin after receiving tough demands from Russia regarding Ukraine, reports the Financial Times.
Sources claim that Moscow’s position was too rigid, which did not satisfy Washington.
The decision to cancel the previously planned bilateral summit was made after a tense phone call at the highest diplomatic level.
Background
On October 16, Trump and Putin, following a phone call, announced their readiness to meet within the next two weeks. The capital of Hungary was chosen as the venue for the bilateral summit.
Its preparation was to be handled by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but soon after, Trump canceled the summit.
According to media reports, Russia did not change its maximalist demands regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. Trump publicly said that he doesn’t want to waste his time in vain.
On the night of October 23, the United States imposed sanctions against the largest oil companies of the aggressor country, Rosneft and Lukoil. The US Treasury also called on Russia to immediately agree to a ceasefire.
The US president announced he was ready to meet again with Putin — but only on the condition that an agreement is reached to end the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Kremlin said that Putin was allegedly ready to meet with the American president. But there is still no clear understanding of when it might take place.
