Russia Continues Preparations for Budapest Summit Despite U.S. Hesitation

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will decide within two days whether to hold the long-discussed summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest. He emphasized that a final decision has not yet been made.

“I don’t want a waste of time,” Trump said, making clear that talks will only proceed if both sides are prepared.

Reports had earlier suggested that preparations for the Budapest summit were suspended. According to NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake, citing a White House source, this decision followed a phone conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Although the discussion was described as “productive,” Trump reportedly concluded that “both sides are not ready for negotiations at this stage.”

Russia Presses On with Summit Preparations

Despite U.S. hesitation, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said preparations for the Russia–U.S. summit in Hungary continue. He accused Western media of “distorting comments about the ‘near future’ to undermine the upcoming meeting.”

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also dismissed reports suggesting that the summit could be canceled due to Moscow’s unchanged position, which Western outlets described as “maximalist.” Lavrov criticized Western media for bias and manipulation of public opinion.

When asked for clarification, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the situation a “true information circus orchestrated by the ‘party of war.’”

Moscow Sends U.S. Note Reiterating Donbass Demands

According to Reuters, Russia sent a confidential diplomatic note to the U.S. over the weekend, restating its longstanding conditions for a peace settlement in Ukraine. The document reportedly reaffirmed Moscow’s demand to secure control over the entire Donbass region.

This stance conflicts with Trump’s approach, which calls for freezing the conflict along current front lines. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that during a recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump urged Kyiv to accept a swift settlement. He reportedly emphasized Russia’s leverage and even discussed possible territorial concessions by Ukraine to expedite an agreement.

Trump Believes Peace Is Possible

Trump reiterated that both Putin and Zelensky seek to end the war.

“I think Putin wants it to end, I think Zelensky wants it to end. I think it will end,” he said, expressing optimism that the Ukrainian conflict would not escalate into a third world war.