WASHINGTON DC – The prospect of a high-stakes, rapid-fire summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest has been put on ice, with the US leader Tuesday evening suggesting the encounter risked being a mere “waste of time.”
The sudden reversal, which came hours after a White House official confirmed there were “no plans” for an immediate meeting, casts fresh doubt on the US President’s push for a quick peace deal in Ukraine and sparked immediate fallout in Washington and across the Atlantic.
Stalled Diplomacy: The ‘Waste of Time’ Calculation
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office following a Diwali celebration, Trump confirmed the postponement of the meeting, which he had touted just last week as imminent.
“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting. I don’t want to have a waste of time, so I’ll see what happens,” he said, framing the delay as a rejection of a fruitless diplomatic exercise.
Trump also added that he would have an update on his approach to the conflict in “the next two days.”
The comment followed a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which, while described as “productive” by the White House, failed to bridge the wide gap on terms for ending the war.
Russia, according to US sources, has maintained a “maximalist stance” that includes demands for territorial and security concessions – a position that appeared to frustrate the US President’s hopes for a swift deal.
NATO Chief Rushes to Washington
Against the backdrop of stalled diplomacy, NATO has announced a last-minute visit by Secretary General Mark Rutte to Washington DC.
Rutte is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Wednesday, with NATO confirming only that there is “no planned media opportunity.”
The hastily arranged visit highlights the deep anxiety among European allies regarding the shifting US approach to the conflict.
European leaders are currently scrambling to finalize a significant support package for Kyiv, aiming to bolster Ukraine’s negotiating position and ensure it is not forced into making territorial concessions to Moscow.
Congressional Condemnation
The postponement was met with relief, albeit with pointed criticism, from Capitol Hill.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the decision, but was quick to lash out at the initial attempt to arrange the talks.
“I’m glad the White House finally pulled down the Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest, which should never have been agreed to in the first place,” Shaheen said in a statement.
“President Trump must stop rolling out the red carpet for Putin and start standing behind Ukraine to end this war,” she added.
Shaheen went further, urging the Senate to immediately move forward with bipartisan legislation to support Ukraine and sanction Russia, a process she said was delayed pending the outcome of the now-canceled summit.
Expert: No ‘miracles in diplomacy’
Ukraine watchers in Washington suggest that the failure to secure a breakthrough underscores the limits of a purely transactional approach to one of the world’s most complex conflicts.
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the non-profit Hope for Ukraine, told Kyiv Post that the diplomatic effort had “run headlong into the cold reality that high-stakes diplomacy requires groundwork, not just an optimistic belief in an imminent breakthrough.”
“The failure to move the needle on Russia’s position underscores a crucial lesson in foreign policy: there are no miracles in diplomacy, only the successful execution of a well-planned strategy,” Boyechko said.
The expert indicated that Moscow’s lack of willingness to move away from its full set of preconditions made the proposed Budapest summit “poised to be an empty gesture rather than a vehicle for peace,” justifying the US President’s decision to delay.