The planned meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Hungary has been called off, triggering heightened concerns about the possibility of World War 3.
Discussions aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine were postponed between the two leaders, with the meeting scheduled to take place in Budapest, Hungary, without a specified date.
The decision to delay the meeting came after a conversation between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned on Tuesday that it seemed there was no immediate need for the leaders to meet and emphasized the importance of thorough preparation.
This development marks another setback in Trump’s attempts to address the Ukraine conflict, which he previously suggested could be swiftly resolved. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders have accused Putin of prolonging the conflict to advance his military objectives during diplomatic negotiations.
Zelensky highlighted that Putin only engaged in diplomacy and reached out to Trump when there was a possibility of the US supplying Ukraine with advanced Tomahawk missiles. He stressed the importance of applying pressure to achieve peace in a post on Telegram on Tuesday.
Recently, Trump appeared to shift his stance on Ukraine conceding territory to end the conflict after conversing with Putin, advocating for both Russia and Kyiv to maintain their current positions.
Efforts are underway to align Trump’s position with those of Ukrainian and European leaders, who endorse the immediate cessation of hostilities and using the current frontlines as the basis for future talks.
Further discussions on imposing additional international economic sanctions on Russia are expected to take place at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.