President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are no longer meeting in Budapest as previously planned, casting doubt over Trump's latest attempt to secure a ceasefire to stop Russia's fighting in Ukraine.
A White House official confirmed the summit is off, telling USA TODAY that a "productive call" between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the meeting unnecessary. The official said Trump and Putin have no plans to meet in the immediate future.
Putin has rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire and refused to entertain concessions as part of a peace deal with Ukraine. Moscow continues to demand that Ukraine cede territory in any agreement to end the war.
Trump, following an Oct. 16 phone call with Putin, announced plans for a meeting in Budapest to work on an agreement to end the war. The choice of Budapest for talks was controversial. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is one of the few leaders in the European Union to maintain close relations with Russia.
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