Russian President Vladimir Putin called US President Donald Trump to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Putin’s demands were not new: “Russia will annex all the regions it has seized, including the region where Ukraine still holds the line, Ukraine will be disarmed, and Zelensky will be prosecuted.”
A few days later, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note to Washington containing concessions such as Ukraine never joining NATO and reducing its army.
However, Trump, tired of hearing the same things, made a clear decision: there was no need to hear the same things in Budapest.
Thus, the US officially canceled the planned Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest after the Kremlin’s phone call.
WASHINGTON IS FED UP
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, stated that Moscow was not willing to negotiate and advised Trump to cancel the summit.
Trump’s cancellation of the summit marked the most significant change in US policy towards Ukraine. The US, which had been trying to compromise with Russia, is now minimizing diplomatic relations.
Trump had recently moved closer to Putin and abandoned the plan to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
However, after seeing Lavrov’s tough stance, officials in Washington concluded that talks with Moscow would be fruitless.
PUTIN ANNOYED TRUMP
Trump described his October 16 phone call with Putin as “productive,” but Putin’s boasting about military successes near Kupyansk in eastern Ukraine annoyed Trump.
The Russian Foreign Minister is also not painting a good picture. Lavrov’s statement that “Ukraine is under the control of Nazis” during a brief meeting in New York upset American diplomats.
An official said, “Lavrov looks tired and prefers to deal with other things rather than meeting with the US.”
Meanwhile, Russian soldiers are making progress on the lines where Ukraine is still holding out. This gives Russia leverage in negotiations.
TRUMP ‘DISAPPOINTED’
After his meeting with Putin, Trump shelved the plan to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying it “takes the tension to a dangerous point.”
However, with the cancellation of the Budapest summit, Trump increased pressure on Moscow.
Trump, who imposed new sanctions on Russian oil giants, accused Putin of undermining peace talks with nuclear weapons tests.
While the Kremlin remained silent, Russia blamed Ukraine and Europe for the failure of the last meeting in Alaska.
Former US intelligence official Peter Schroeder said, “Putin cannot convince Trump to understand his point of view, and this frustrates him.”
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