The Postponement of the Rubio-Lavrov Meeting Threatens the Trump-Putin Summit
The American network CNN revealed, citing informed sources, that U.S. President Donald Trump's hopes for a near summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin face obstacles that may lead to its postponement, amid differing views on the Ukrainian crisis.
Trump had announced, following a phone call with Putin on Thursday, a preliminary agreement to hold a high-level meeting between the advisors of both countries next week.
He wrote on the "Truth Social" platform:
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with several individuals to be determined later, will lead the initial meetings for the United States."
However, developments did not go as planned, as a White House official told CNN that the anticipated meeting between Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov has been temporarily postponed, without revealing the official reasons for the delay.
However, one source suggested that disagreements between the two sides, especially regarding the prospects of ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine, were the main reason.
For its part, the Russian news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov as saying that "it is still early to talk about a possible meeting date between the foreign ministers," confirming that Moscow is still studying the results of the recent contact between Lavrov and Rubio.
This comes at a time when Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto arrived in Washington to help prepare for Trump's anticipated visit to Budapest.
Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook page (which is banned in Russia and owned by the company "Meta," classified as "extremist" by Russian authorities):
"Crucial days ahead," attaching his post with pictures from Washington Airport where he was welcomed by American officials.
Earlier, Moscow had confirmed that its foreign minister had indeed made a phone call with Marco Rubio to prepare for a potential summit between Trump and Putin, a step that raised hopes for a possible political breakthrough.
For her part, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly defended Trump's diplomatic efforts, stating in a comment to CNN :
"President Trump has consistently worked to find a peaceful and diplomatic solution to end this senseless war and stop the killing. He has bravely reached out to all parties and will do everything in his power to achieve peace."
All eyes remain on whether these initiatives will lead to an anticipated summit between Trump and Putin, or whether disagreements over Ukraine will close the door to the meeting for now.
