No Presidential Handshake Yet: Trump-Putin Meeting Plans Remain Uncertain

Plans for an imminent meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been shelved, according to a US administration official who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity. The development represents a significant reversal from Trump’s recent announcement that the two leaders would convene in Budapest within a fortnight.
The latest diplomatic update follows a Monday phone conversation between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. While the call was initially intended to arrange logistics for a Trump-Putin summit, American officials have now determined that no additional face-to-face meeting between the foreign ministers is required, and consequently, no immediate presidential summit is planned.
The US official described the Rubio-Lavrov telephone discussion as “productive,” though the characterization comes without any firm commitment to a near-term presidential meeting. Russia has similarly downplayed expectations, with Kremlin representatives stating Tuesday that no “precise timeframe” has been established for a summit between the two national leaders.
The diplomatic whiplash began last Thursday after Trump and Putin spoke by telephone, a conversation Trump initially portrayed as a significant step forward in bilateral relations. Trump swiftly posted on social media platforms announcing a Budapest meeting within two weeks, timing the announcement to coincide with his upcoming discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory.
Trump’s approach to Putin has undergone multiple dramatic shifts, including the controversial August decision to welcome the Russian leader to Alaska for his first visit to Western territory since initiating the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite Trump’s earlier claims that his personal rapport with Putin would enable him to end the war within a day of returning to office, the president has recently expressed frustrations in dealing with his Russian counterpart.