Plans for a high-profile summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest have been abruptly put on hold, casting uncertainty over the prospects for peace in Ukraine and exposing deep divisions among the key players. The move, confirmed on October 21, 2025, comes just days after Trump had publicly floated the idea of a meeting in Hungary to help end the ongoing war in Ukraine. Now, with both sides trading accusations and Europe watching nervously, the diplomatic path forward appears as murky as ever.
"I don’t want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, echoing his frustration with the lack of progress. "I don’t want to have a waste of time, so I’ll see what happens. We’ll be notifying you over the next two days as to what we’re doing. But a lot of things are happening on the war front." According to Reuters, this reversal came just a week after Trump described a phone call with Putin as "very productive" and announced plans to meet within two weeks in Budapest. The hope, he said, was to broker a ceasefire that would freeze the current battle lines in Ukraine and potentially pave the way for a lasting peace.
But behind the scenes, the negotiations were anything but straightforward. During what sources described as "tense" talks in Washington last Friday, Trump reportedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider giving up the eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace. This idea, while not new, has long been a sticking point for Kyiv. Zelensky, for his part, has stood firm in rejecting any prospect of ceding Russian-occupied ground, instead pushing European allies to increase pressure on Moscow.
"We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction," European leaders said in a joint statement on Tuesday, as quoted by CBS News. They expressed support for Trump’s call for an immediate halt to the fighting and said the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations. However, they also accused Russia of employing "stalling tactics" that undermine any suggestion it is genuinely seeking peace.
The heart of the impasse lies in the starkly different expectations of the parties involved. According to a source familiar with recent conversations between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia has maintained its maximalist stance, demanding that Ukraine surrender the entire Donbas region. This position, the source told UBN News, shows no willingness to agree to Trump’s plan to freeze the front lines, even though Kyiv had already signaled its acceptance of such a proposal.
As a result, the much-anticipated preparatory meeting between Rubio and Lavrov, originally set for October 23 in Budapest, was postponed to October 30. The White House confirmed that there are now "no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future." A senior official told Reuters that after a "productive call" between Rubio and Lavrov on Monday, an in-person meeting was deemed "not necessary." The State Department emphasized that Rubio had highlighted the importance of the planned talks as a chance for Moscow and Washington to work together on a durable resolution to the conflict, in line with Trump’s vision.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, whose country was slated to host the summit, sought to calm nerves amid the swirling uncertainty. Speaking to Hungarian media, Szijjártó warned of "fake news" and efforts to undermine the peace summit but insisted that talks in Budapest were "not off the table." He was in Washington on October 21 for meetings with his U.S. counterpart and posted on Facebook: "We have some serious days ahead." His comments reflect Hungary’s unique position within the European Union, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban remains one of the bloc’s few leaders to maintain warm relations with Russia.
The choice of Budapest as a venue has not been without controversy. Any trip by Putin would require flying through the airspace of other EU countries, and Poland, for one, has warned it could force down Putin’s plane and arrest him on an international warrant if he attempted to cross its territory. Bulgaria, meanwhile, has said it would allow Putin to use its airspace for the meeting.
For European allies, the stakes are high. Many are concerned that Trump could meet with Putin without securing meaningful concessions from the Russian side. As one senior European diplomat put it to Reuters, "I guess the Russians wanted too much and it became evident for the Americans that there will be no deal for Trump in Budapest." Another diplomat added, "The Russians haven’t at all changed their position, and are not agreeing to 'stop where they are.'" These concerns have only grown as Russia reiterated its long-standing terms for a peace deal in a private communique, known as a "non paper," sent to the U.S. last weekend. The document reaffirmed Moscow’s demand for full control of the entire Donbas region—Luhansk province and about 75% of neighboring Donetsk—which together make up Donbas.
Despite the diplomatic deadlock, neither side has officially abandoned the idea of a summit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "Preparation is needed, serious preparation," and that neither Trump nor Putin had given exact dates for a meeting. "Listen, we have an understanding of the presidents, but we cannot postpone what has not been finalized," Peskov remarked, suggesting that the door remains open, albeit only slightly.
The uncertainty comes at a time when the war in Ukraine shows little sign of abating. Russia continues its military aggression, and artillery exchanges near the frontline town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region have reportedly intensified. Trump, who has at times shifted his public stance on the conflict, recently called for an immediate halt to the war that would see Russia maintaining control of territory it has already taken in the Donbas—"Let it be cut the way it is. It’s cut up right now. I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia. You leave it the way it is right now," he told reporters on Air Force One, referring to the Donbas region. "They can negotiate something later on down the line. But I said cut and stop at the battle line. Go home. Stop fighting, stop killing people."
Yet, as European leaders prepare to meet this week with Zelensky at an EU summit and at a "coalition of the willing" gathering to discuss a security force for post-war Ukraine, the sense of urgency is palpable. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has traveled to Washington to present the European view on a ceasefire and possible peace negotiations, further underscoring the international pressure on all sides to find a solution.
For now, the world is left waiting. The possibility of a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest lingers, but with Russia holding firm to its demands and Ukraine’s allies wary of any deal that rewards aggression, the path to peace remains as fraught as ever. The next few days could prove decisive—or simply mark yet another chapter in a long-running diplomatic stalemate.
