Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will not be meeting in Budapest. At least not for now. This was confirmed by the White House on Tuesday through a high-level source, who explained that while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a "productive conversation", now "an additional in-person meeting is therefore not necessary" between them. Consequently, "there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future."
The message is confusing. Last week, Trump indicated the sequence: a phone call with Putin, a visit from Zelenski, a meeting between the ministers these days, and a meeting in Budapest between their leaders. There were no specific dates, but the expectation was that it would be within two or three weeks. And now, that chain seems to have broken without any explanation, trying to portray what happened as almost a normal consequence.
The past 96 hours, following the meeting with the Ukrainian leader, have been very turbulent in Washington. After a reasonably friendly previous appearance between both at the White House, the U.S. press reported over the weekend that the meeting, lasting over two hours, did not go as expected in Kiev and Brussels. Trump, echoing many of Moscow's arguments, would have pressured Zelenski along the same lines as earlier in the year, pushing him to accept the loss of all territories currently under Russian control. And even emphasizing that according to Putin, this is not a war but "a special operation."
Messages in the capital also speak of a rift within the Administration, with real estate businessman Steve Witkoff, the president's special envoy who has met with Putin several times in Moscow, being the one pushing in that direction the most. While Marco Rubio, the Foreign Minister with much more experience in international affairs, would advocate for a less accommodating stance towards the Kremlin's vision. Zelenski himself, back in his country on Saturday, could not hide his frustration towards Witkoff, emphasizing how he has to explain certain ideas to him over and over again and debunk the myths that the American envoy repeats, especially about the Russian-speaking population in Donbass, not necessarily pro-Russian.
Rubio and Lavrov have spoken on the phone about the next steps, according to a brief summary from the U.S. State Department. Rubio "emphasized the importance of the upcoming commitments as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate to promote a lasting solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine, in line with President Trump's vision," as expressed by his team. However, sources cited by CNN suggest that there was no progress, that the positions are very far apart. And furthermore, Lavrov has no mandate to offer anything. All negotiations depend on the Kremlin. Meanwhile, Moscow described the call as a "constructive discussion" that addressed "possible concrete steps to implement the understandings" reached by Trump and Putin in their own call.
This is where the European leaders also come into play, who, as they did in the summer before the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska, have mobilized quickly to pressure the U.S. and bring a well-defined plan in advance, thus hoping to prevent the more skilled and experienced Russian from outmaneuvering the American, as seems to happen after each conversation, in the words of the former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
This explains the 12-point roadmap that the Europeans, alongside the Ukrainians, have outlined. Starting with the idea to freeze the current frontlines, as Trump requested last Friday and as Zelenski seemed to accept. Under this plan, as reported by Bloomberg, a kind of "peace council" would be established, the same formula that the Republican leader favored for Gaza. And that council, with him at the helm, would oversee the steps towards peace.
Once Russia agrees to a ceasefire, and both parties commit to halting their troop movements, the roadmap advocates for the return of all abducted children to Ukraine and a massive prisoner exchange. Additionally, Ukraine would receive security guarantees, funds to repair war damages, and a pathway to join the European Union as soon as possible. Russia, on the other hand, would see international sanctions gradually lifted. And it would not have access to its frozen assets until concrete agreements on war reparations are reached.
Over these nine months, Trump has wavered back and forth. The possibility of postponing or canceling the Budapest meeting is just another example. Sometimes he talks about imposing significant sanctions on Moscow, allowing Ukrainian attacks on major Russian cities. Or he considers selling Tomahawk missiles to them, as he seemed to suggest in recent weeks. But at the same time, and without specific explanations, he praises Putin, says he wants peace, maintains a very good relationship, or criticizes Kiev. While organizing personal meetings or considering the possibility of three-way talks.