BREAKING – Budapest Trump-Putin summit at risk due to escalating US-Russia tensions!

Plans for a new summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been delayed after a pre-meeting between their top foreign affairs officials was postponed, media reports said on Tuesday.

Differing views on how to end the war

Trump had said earlier this week that “high-level advisors” from both countries would meet to prepare for a potential summit in Budapest, Hungary, following a call with Putin, according to CNN.

He wrote on Truth Social that the US delegation would be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio “together with various other people, to be designated.”

However, a White House official told CNN that the expected meeting between Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “has been put on hold for the time being.”

• Putin Budapest travel headache exposed: secure route to Hungary revealed

No reason was immediately provided for the delay, though one source said the two sides held differing views on a possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

That comes after a yesterday phone call between the Russian foreign minister Lavrov and the US secretary of state Rubio. The Kremlin described the call then as “constructive” talks amid preparations ahead of a summit.

Trump continues to work for peaceful solution

“President Trump has consistently worked towards finding a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to end this senseless war and to stop the killing,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly. “He has courageously engaged parties on all sides and will do everything in his power to achieve peace.”

According to a US State Department readout, Rubio and Lavrov spoke by phone on Monday and discussed “next steps” to follow up on last week’s Trump-Putin call.

• Russia explained why Putin will meet Trump in Budapest

Rubio “emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump’s vision.” The Kremlin described the conversation as “constructive” and focused on “possible concrete steps to implement the understandings” reached between the two presidents.

Next week summit in danger

A source familiar with the talks told CNN that after the call, US officials concluded that “the Russian position has not evolved enough beyond its maximalist stance.”

For now, Rubio is not expected to recommend that the Trump-Putin meeting proceed next week, though further discussions between the two diplomats remain possible.

The last Trump-Putin summit took place more than two months ago in Anchorage, Alaska, lasting nearly three hours without producing a deal. Trump has since urged Kyiv and Moscow to “stop the war immediately.”

Macron: Ukraine, Europeans should be ‘around table’ at summit

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said Ukrainians and Europeans “should be around the table” during a potential meeting in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“From the moment they discuss the fate of Ukraine, the Ukrainians should be around the table. From the moment they should be discussing what impacts the security of Europeans, Europeans should be around the table. That’s all I can say,” Macron stressed.

Macron also reiterated France’s support for Ukraine, highlighting the country’s resilience amid the ongoing war. “Ukraine continues to resist with great bravery by continuing to innovate and produce. And we’ll have a coalition of the willing on Friday, which will be partly physical, partly virtual, but which will bring us together for a few of us in London, and (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky will be there. So we continue to move forward,” he said.

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