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Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to hold a new meeting during a mid-October phone call, selecting Budapest as the venue. However, according to NBC News, Trump now believes that both sides are not sufficiently prepared for negotiations. A White House representative told journalists that the U.S. President has no plans to meet with his Russian counterpart in the near future. “There are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future,” CBS quoted the official as saying. Budapest Summit Preparations Suspended According to Reuters, Moscow’s position—opposing an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine—has jeopardized the planned meeting between Putin and Trump in Hungary. Preparations for the summit are currently suspended, NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake reported, citing a senior White House official. Sources told Reuters that the postponement of the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicates that Washington may abandon the summit if Moscow refuses to make concessions. “I think the Russians wanted too much, and it became clear to the Americans that there would be no deal with Trump in Budapest,” one source said. At the same time, neither side has publicly withdrawn from plans for a Putin–Trump meeting, and efforts to organize the Budapest summit reportedly continue. A source told Haake that the recent Lavrov–Rubio phone conversation was “productive,” but Trump still believes both sides are not ready to move forward with substantive talks. EU and Ukraine Draft 12-Point Peace Plan Meanwhile, the EU and Ukraine are jointly preparing a 12-point plan to end the conflict, Bloomberg reported, citing officials familiar with the process. According to the sources, the plan would be overseen by a peace commission chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump himself. Under the proposal, Russia and Ukraine must first agree to halt all military operations and maintain current front lines. Russia would then return Ukrainian children taken from conflict zones and conduct a prisoner exchange. Earlier, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that these children had been “rescued by Russian soldiers and evacuated from combat areas.” The plan also envisions security guarantees for Ukraine, financial aid for reconstruction, and a path toward rapid EU accession. Western sanctions on Russia would be gradually lifted, but approximately $300 billion in frozen Central Bank assets would only be released once Moscow contributes to Ukraine’s recovery. After these steps, Moscow and Kyiv would begin negotiations on the status of disputed territories. According to Bloomberg, sanctions would be immediately reinstated if Russia resumes hostilities. Moscow has repeatedly described Western sanctions as illegal. Trump’s Initiative and Reactions from Moscow and Kyiv Sources emphasized that the plan remains under development and subject to change, with Washington’s approval required for its final version. European officials are expected to travel to the U.S. this week to discuss details. The proposal echoes Trump’s earlier call to “freeze the conflict along the current front lines” and begin negotiations only afterward. On October 20, Trump reiterated that “Russia and Ukraine can stop where they are and agree on something later.” He warned that if the sides fail to reach a settlement, “many will pay a heavy price.” A day before Trump’s remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that to achieve a ceasefire and begin peace talks, both armies must remain positioned along their current lines. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Moscow remains open to a settlement but views freezing the conflict as “unacceptable.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also stated that a temporary freeze “is not a solution” for Russia, which seeks to achieve all its stated objectives.
