Trump: Not Wanting to Meet Putin for Now, a Waste of Time

After speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, US President Donald Trump announced that the two leaders would meet in the near future in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Trump stated on the 21st that the planned meeting has been put on hold because he does not want to "waste time." "I don't want to hold a meaningless meeting," he said. "I don't want to waste time—so let's see what happens." He also mentioned that a decision regarding the meeting would be made in the coming days.

Separately, a White House official revealed that Trump will hold talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the 22nd. The official did not provide any details about the agenda for the discussions.

It is reported that Trump's decision to postpone the Budapest meeting came after a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the 20th.

Following the call, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that Lavrov and Rubio held a "constructive discussion" centered on the consensus reached during the previous phone conversation between the two leaders. Both sides explored possible concrete measures to implement the relevant consensus. However, the statement did not disclose further details.

US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Pigott also issued a statement that day, saying that the upcoming talks between the two presidents on the issue of Ukraine are "crucial" and provide an opportunity for the US and Russia to jointly promote a lasting resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Since taking office in January of this year, Trump's stance on Russia-Ukraine peace talks has shifted repeatedly. Last week, after speaking with Putin and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately, Trump stated that Russia and Ukraine should "split" Donbas along the current front lines, demarcate boundaries, cease fire, and withdraw their respective troops.

Earlier this year, Trump pressured Ukraine to make concessions on territorial issues to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but in late September, he claimed that Ukraine has the capability to restore its original territories. On October 17, the day of his meeting with Zelenskyy, when asked by reporters whether Ukraine needs to exchange territory for peace, Trump merely said, "Nobody knows." Zelenskyy told reporters on the same day that making territorial concessions is a "sensitive" and "difficult" issue.