Second Trump-Putin Summit on Hold After Rubio’s Call With Russian Officials

President Donald Trump’s anticipated second summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been put on pause following a high-level phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The White House confirmed Tuesday that there are currently “no plans” for an in-person Trump-Putin meeting, despite prior arrangements to meet in Budapest to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting. I don’t want to have a waste of time,” President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’ll see what happens. We haven’t made a determination.”

Trump’s comments come just days after he held a lengthy phone conversation with Putin, followed by a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. While a second Trump-Putin meeting was originally expected to build on their August summit in Alaska, where Ukraine peace talks began, Russia’s continued attacks on civilians are now casting serious doubt on Putin’s willingness to negotiate.

Secretary Rubio’s call with Lavrov reportedly addressed next steps in diplomacy, but also eliminated the need for another Trump-Putin face-to-face in the short term.

A White House official noted, “Therefore, an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”

Meanwhile, the situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate. On Tuesday, Russia launched fresh missile strikes on Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, killing four civilians and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

Zelensky, now pushing harder for military support, hinted that diplomacy works only when Russia feels threatened militarily.

“The greater Ukraine’s long-range reach, the greater Russia’s willingness to end the war,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Tomahawks turned out to be a major investment in diplomacy – we forced Russia to reveal that Tomahawks are the card they take seriously.”

Despite previously considering the delivery of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Trump has so far withheld authorization. Still, the pressure on Putin is mounting militarily, diplomatically, and economically.

As Trump prepares for a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European leaders are expected to roll out expanded economic sanctions on Russia. A joint statement from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and other Western nations urges leaders to “ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defense industry, until Putin is ready to make peace.”

That message aligns with Trump’s long-standing strategy: peace through strength. Unlike the Biden administration’s weak and reactive posture, Trump is once again taking a measured but assertive approach, sending a clear message he’s willing to sit down with Putin, but only if there’s something real on the table.

• Trump is refusing to legitimize empty talks with a hostile adversary

• Russia’s continued violence is sabotaging its own diplomatic leverage

• Zelensky and NATO allies are turning up the heat, reinforcing Trump’s pressure campaign

While Democrats and the media love to portray Trump’s foreign policy as unpredictable, the reality is simple: Trump gets results because he doesn’t play games. If Russia wants peace, it knows where to find it but only on America’s terms.

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