Russia dampens hopes for a quick Trump-Putin summit. The preparatory meeting between Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov has not been set
Marco Rubio (right) talking with Sergei Lavrov at the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Photo credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Profimedia
Moscow said on Tuesday that the prospect of a meeting between Lavrov and Rubio “was not specifically raised” in their telephone conversation on Monday. CNN writes that this happened because of divergent expectations about a possible end to the war.
Donald Trump's hopes for a quick meeting in Budapest with Russian President Vladimir Putin may be tempered, given that the heads of diplomacy of the US and Russia have so far failed to set up a preparatory meeting, writes CNN.
After speaking with Putin last week, Trump said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would meet to prepare for the Budapest summit.
Rubio and Lavrov talked on Monday, but without reaching a decision on the meeting, CNN writes, citing an anonymous White House official. According to CNN's sources, Rubio and Lavrov actually have divergent expectations about a possible end to the war.
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On Tuesday morning, a Russian foreign ministry official responded to the CNN report, saying “you can't postpone a meeting that hasn't even been set.”
Such a meeting requires preparations, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the RIA news agency, basically confirming that Lavrov and Rubio are not yet ready to meet.
Ryabkov even said that the prospect of a meeting between the two “wasn't specifically raised.”
A “constructive” discussion, says Moscow
Monday's talk between Rubio and Lavrov was described as “constructive” in Moscow's communications.
But Tommy Pigott, the State Department's deputy spokesman, did not use the word “constructive,” Reuters notes.
“The secretary emphasized the importance of the upcoming meetings as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to work together to advance a durable solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine, in line with President Trump's vision,” Pigott said.
Lavrov and Rubio spoke on the phone about preparations for the Putin-Trump summit in Budapest
Rubio and Lavrov could talk on the phone again this week, CNN writes.
The anticipated meeting between Rubio and Lavrov was seen as a key preparatory step for the second summit this year between Trump and Putin.
The leaders agreed last Thursday, in a phone call, to meet soon in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Trump's indecisions
Putin has repeatedly stated that he is ready to discuss peace, but Moscow has made it clear at the same time that it is not willing to give up the maximalist conditions imposed on Ukraine to end the war.
Trump and Putin met on August 15 at a Cold War-era air base in Anchorage, Alaska, and suggested some progress in negotiations, although US and Russian sources said there were significant disagreements over how to end the war.
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Trump later hinted for a time that he was disappointed with Putin and his position, and said that Ukraine might actually win the war.
After his talk with Putin on Friday, the American leader appeared to have changed his mind again.
In a subsequent meeting at the White House, he pressed Zelenskiy to accept Russia's terms for ending the war, according to a Financial Times report.
