Trump–Putin Budapest Summit Cancelled After Moscow Memo Raises Conditions for Ukraine Talks
Planned meeting on Ukraine war shelved as Russia presents rigid demands and Washington calls off high-level negotiations
The planned summit in Budapest between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been cancelled after Moscow sent a memo to Washington outlining pre-conditions for the war in Ukraine, the White House confirmed.
The document reportedly demanded that Ukraine cede more territory, sharply cut its armed forces, and give assurances that it will never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
After the Russian Foreign Ministry’s communication, a phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led Washington to conclude that Moscow was not yet ready for meaningful talks.
A White House statement said an in-person meeting is “not in the immediate future.”
President Trump, who had announced the summit would take place in Hungary within weeks, said he did not want a “wasted meeting” and that he would wait until the conditions were right.
Earlier, he had expressed support for an immediate ceasefire based on current front-lines, aligning with his effort to broker an end to the war.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, reaffirmed his country’s openness to peace talks but stated that Ukraine would not relinquish additional territory as Moscow demanded.
European allies also backed a ceasefire on existing lines and ruled out territorial concessions for Ukraine.
Russian officials insisted their export-control and security concerns required the demands, but the memo widened the gap between Moscow’s maximalist position and the U.S. diplomatic timeline.
The summit’s cancellation underlines the depth of disagreement over how to end the war and the limits of U.S.–Russia diplomacy at this stage.
The document reportedly demanded that Ukraine cede more territory, sharply cut its armed forces, and give assurances that it will never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
After the Russian Foreign Ministry’s communication, a phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led Washington to conclude that Moscow was not yet ready for meaningful talks.
A White House statement said an in-person meeting is “not in the immediate future.”
President Trump, who had announced the summit would take place in Hungary within weeks, said he did not want a “wasted meeting” and that he would wait until the conditions were right.
Earlier, he had expressed support for an immediate ceasefire based on current front-lines, aligning with his effort to broker an end to the war.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, reaffirmed his country’s openness to peace talks but stated that Ukraine would not relinquish additional territory as Moscow demanded.
European allies also backed a ceasefire on existing lines and ruled out territorial concessions for Ukraine.
Russian officials insisted their export-control and security concerns required the demands, but the memo widened the gap between Moscow’s maximalist position and the U.S. diplomatic timeline.
The summit’s cancellation underlines the depth of disagreement over how to end the war and the limits of U.S.–Russia diplomacy at this stage.
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