Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Budapest? The summit is under serious threat of complete failure

The hopes of US President Donald Trump for a quick meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest may fail. The reason is Russia's position on the issue of the end of the war in Ukraine, CNN reports, citing a source from the White House.

Specifically, on October 16, after a telephone conversation with Putin, Trump announced that a new summit would be held between them. But first, they “agreed that a meeting of our senior advisers would take place next week“.

“The first meetings of the United States will be held under the leadership of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as a number of other individuals to be determined“ – he wrote in Truth Social.

However, a White House official told American television that the preliminary meeting between Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been postponed for now.

It is not yet clear why the meeting will not take place this week, although one of the sources reported that the Secretary of State and the Russian Foreign Minister have different expectations regarding the possible end of Russia's war against Ukraine.

In particular, yesterday, October 20, Rubio and Lavrov had a phone conversation and discussed “next steps” after the conversation between Trump and Putin about the possible end of the war.

"(The US Secretary of State) stressed the importance of the upcoming meetings as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to cooperate in promoting a long-term settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict consistent with Trump's vision", the State Department said in a statement.

However, a source familiar with the situation said that after this conversation, officials believe that Russia's position on the war in Ukraine has not changed sufficiently.

According to the source, Rubio is unlikely to recommend a meeting between Putin and Trump next week. At the same time, the secretary of state and the Russian foreign minister may hold another conversation this week.