US-Russia Summit Hopes Dim as Officials Deny Immediate Plans

Hopes for a near-term summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin have dimmed significantly. A US official stated Tuesday that “no plans” exist for a meeting in the “immediate future,” directly contradicting the president.
This clarification came after Trump’s surprise announcement last week of a Budapest summit within two weeks, which he posted following a call with Putin.
To prepare, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a “productive” call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
Despite this diplomatic engagement, the anonymous US official confirmed the meeting was not happening as Trump described. The official added that a follow-up in-person meeting between the diplomats was “not necessary.”
The Kremlin also confirmed the delay, stating there is “no precise timeframe” for a summit. This uncertainty comes as Trump was also scheduled to discuss providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine’s president.