Preparations for Trump-Putin summit in Budapest reportedly suspended

Preparations for a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest have reportedly been put on hold.

According to NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake, the development was disclosed by a senior White House official, Caliber.Az reports.

Haake shared the information via a post on X, though no formal statement has been issued by the White House or other official sources.

“Planning towards that Trump/Putin summit in Budapest is "on hold" at the moment, a senior White House official tells me. Initial call between Sec. Rubio & FM Lavrov was "productive," but POTUS believes both sides aren't ready enough to talk to justify moving forward right now,” the post reads.

According to a US State Department readout, Rubio and Lavrov spoke by phone on October 20 and discussed “next steps” to follow up on last week’s Trump-Putin call.

Rubio “emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump’s vision.”

The Kremlin described the conversation as “constructive” and focused on “possible concrete steps to implement the understandings” reached between the two presidents.

A source familiar with the talks said after the call, US officials concluded that “the Russian position has not evolved enough beyond its maximalist stance.”

The last Trump-Putin summit took place more than two months ago in Anchorage, Alaska, lasting nearly three hours without producing a deal.

Trump has since urged Kyiv and Moscow to “stop the war immediately.”

By Vafa Guliyeva