According to a New York Post report, President Donald Trump is putting strength over show, shelving plans for a second in-person summit with Vladimir Putin after Moscow rejected his demand to stop the war in Ukraine along current battle lines.
The White House announced the pause after Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a tense call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to a senior official, the conversation made clear that the Kremlin wasn’t ready to meet Trump’s terms for peace.
“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call,” a White House official told The New York Post. “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.”
Trump had planned to send Rubio to lead a high-level U.S. delegation for in-person talks meant to pave the way for a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, Hungary. But after Putin’s refusal, the president made clear: the United States will not chase weak deals.
Following his third White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since returning to office, Trump urged both sides to “lay down their arms” and begin peace talks. Zelensky immediately backed the plan, calling for a cease-fire and direct negotiations.
But the Kremlin mocked the idea. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Trump’s terms, insisting Ukraine must still surrender territory.
“This topic was repeatedly raised… The consistency of Russia’s position doesn’t change,” Peskov told state media, defending Moscow’s demand for Ukrainian land.
Undeterred, Zelensky and top European leaders issued a joint statement endorsing Trump’s plan — including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and the European Union’s leadership.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the statement read.
More over at The New York Post:
Trump, Putin meeting canceled after Russia insists goal to conquer Ukraine ‘has not changed’ https://t.co/zuJxBj4ccT pic.twitter.com/REAtPup6lX
— New York Post (@nypost) October 21, 2025
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