Putin's Advisor on a Potential Meeting Between Putin and Trump

Russian Presidential Advisor Yuri Ushakov has communicated that a new meeting between the Russian and American presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, has been postponed, but that contacts on the matter are continuing.

"[The presidents] agreed to meet in Budapest, but then postponed the meeting. Contacts on this issue continue," he emphasized to journalist Pavel Zarubin.

How Contacts with the U.S. Are Developing

Furthermore, he pointed out that Moscow and Washington are actively discussing the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, based on the understandings reached between the two leaders during the summit held in mid-August in Alaska.

Ushakov also noted that there has been no official statement from the United States that the agreements reached during the meeting between Putin and Trump are no longer in effect.

Postponed Meeting

In late October, Trump announced the cancellation of his meeting with Putin, which had been scheduled during their last telephone conversation. "I didn't think it was right to meet with him. I didn't think we were going to get to where we had to get to," he said.

For his part, the Russian leader reported that during the call, it was the American side that proposed holding another meeting in Budapest. "I agreed with that, but I expressed my considerations on the matter and said that, without a doubt, this kind of meeting must be well prepared," the head of state stated. "Both for me and for the U.S. President, it would be a mistake to take it lightly and come out of the meeting without the expected result," he added.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized —referring to the statements from both presidents, who made it clear they did not want to waste time "meeting just for the sake of meeting"— that "for their meeting to be fruitful, preparatory work must have been carried out at the level of the heads of state, the Russian Foreign Minister, and the U.S. Secretary of State."

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow also needs "guarantees that the meeting between the presidents will yield concrete results," adding that Russia is prepared for this.

The Anchorage Summit and the Ukrainian Conflict

The leaders had a historic meeting in the city of Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15. This October, when asked if the "momentum from Anchorage" had been exhausted, the Russian leader noted that they had both agreed to "reflect" on a plan to end the Ukrainian conflict by "peaceful means," which he stated are "complex issues that require deeper analysis."

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized its readiness to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through diplomatic channels, pointing out that its root causes should be addressed, such as NATO expansion and the discrimination of Russian speakers in Ukraine. Thus, Putin indicated during the summit with Trump that Moscow wants to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace, not a temporary ceasefire.