Both the United States and Russia cast doubt on a presidential summit Tuesday, denying any meeting is planned for the “immediate future.”
This follows President Trump’s surprise announcement last week of a Budapest summit “within two weeks.” Trump made the claim on social media after a phone call with Vladimir Putin.
A US official, speaking anonymously, said “no plans” exist for the meeting. The Kremlin’s spokesperson said there is “no precise timeframe.”
Trump’s announcement did lead to a “productive” call on Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
However, the US official stated that no further in-person meeting between the diplomats was “necessary.” This reversal comes as Trump was also scheduled to meet Ukraine’s President Zelensky to discuss providing Tomahawk missiles.