On Wednesday, the Kremlin stated that the preparations for a presidential summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are surrounded by “mostly inaccurate” media narratives, despite the U.S. leader’s announcement that the meeting had been postponed.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked, “It’s natural that there is a lot of speculation and gossip surrounding this issue. However, most of it does not accurately reflect reality.”
Peskov reiterated his earlier comments from the week regarding the absence of a specific timeline for a meeting between Putin and Trump to address the war in Ukraine. “It takes time,” he informed journalists.
Last week, Trump mentioned plans for a second meeting with Putin in Budapest, but later on Tuesday, he canceled the plan, indicating he did not want a “wasted” meeting.
When questioned about Trump’s remarks, Peskov responded: “Neither President Trump nor President Putin wishes to squander time.”
According to Reuters, which cited three sources, Russia had conveyed informally to the United States over the weekend that its conditions for ending the conflict in Ukraine remain unchanged.
In response to this report, Peskov stated that Moscow has consistently communicated its position publicly.
Trump has expressed growing frustration with Russia’s unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire in the nearly four-year-long conflict in Ukraine, having so far been unable to persuade Putin to relent on his uncompromising demands.
The U.S. leader and Putin met at a summit in Alaska in August, but that encounter did not result in any peace agreement.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov indicated that preparations are still underway for the summit, despite Trump’s assertions that the high-level meeting was on hold. “We maintain that preparations for a summit are ongoing,” he was quoted as saying by the state news agency TASS, without providing further details.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was scheduled for a preliminary meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, which CNN reported has been delayed. The Financial Times indicated that this meeting could still occur in Budapest on October 30.
AFP contributed to this report.
