Second "Putin-Trump Summit" This Year Cancelled? What Happened in 7 Days

On the 16th local time, US President Trump publicly announced on social media that he would meet with Russian President Putin in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, within two weeks to discuss a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. Just one week later, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

The cancellation of the meeting has also been confirmed by the Russian side. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated on the 22nd that there were no major obstacles in arranging the Putin-Trump meeting in Budapest, but there were some difficulties.

Furthermore, the US Treasury Department announced on the 22nd that it would impose sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, including Rosneft and Lukoil. This marks the first new sanctions against Russia during Trump's second term. Trump stated that he hopes the sanctions targeting Russian oil companies "will not need to last too long."

On October 16, Putin and Trump held a telephone conversation. This was their second call since their meeting in Alaska on August 15. According to statements released by both the US and Russia, the call was initiated by the Russian side and lasted 2.5 hours. During the conversation, Trump repeatedly emphasized the need to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as soon as possible. Putin, in turn, reiterated that "Tomahawk" missiles would not change the situation on the battlefield but would cause significant harm to Russia-US relations and the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At the time, Trump also proposed another meeting with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, which received Putin's support. However, no specific time was agreed upon.

On the 17th, Trump met with visiting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House. This was their third meeting this year. However, the atmosphere of the talks was not friendly. According to a CCTV report, during the meeting, Trump called for both Russia and Ukraine to implement an immediate ceasefire "on the spot" and each declare "victory." Simultaneously, Trump pressured Zelenskyy during the talks, demanding that Ukraine make compromises on territorial issues to achieve a quick ceasefire. After being refused, the two parted on unfriendly terms.