Putin-Trump summit canceled as Moscow refuses to soften demands

The planned summit in Budapest between Donald Trump and Vlad Putin has been cancelled.

The decision came after a tense call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where Moscow refused to back down from demands tied to Ukraine.

The Financial Times first reported the cancellation, saying the U.S. saw no sign that Russia was willing to negotiate. The White House is yet to publicly acknowledge the report.

The original goal of the Budapest meeting was to discuss a possible framework to end the war. But Moscow insisted that any ceasefire required Ukraine to give up more territory, sharply reduce its military, and guarantee it would never join NATO.

Trump had supported a ceasefire along current frontlines instead. Days after the two leaders had agreed to meet, Russia sent Washington a memo repeating the same demands, saying they address what Putin calls the “root causes” of the war.

Moscow rejects compromise; summit cancelled

According to the Financial Times, Rubio told Trump after the call that Russia was not moving an inch from its position. The administration then cancelled the summit plans.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine is open to talks, but it will not withdraw from additional territory first.

Early in his term, Trump spoke strongly about backing Ukraine and pushing toward an end to Russia’s invasion. But over the past two weeks, his tone has changed.

When Zelenskiy visited Washington, many expected Trump to approve long‑range Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine. He did not. The change continued during Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping.

Even though Trump had previously urged India to cut its purchases of Russian oil, he made no such demand of China, telling reporters that:- “We really didn’t discuss the oil.”

When asked about ending the war, Trump described the situation as stalled. In his own words:-

“We’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done. We agree that the sides are locked in, fighting, and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess. Crazy. But he’s going to help us and we’re going to work together on Ukraine.”

Sanctions hit Rosneft and Lukoil, but oil shipments continue

Even with the softer talk, Trump did announce sanctions last week on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.

Supporters of Ukraine see this as meaningful, saying it could tighten Moscow’s war financing. Both companies have already said they will sell international assets because of the sanctions.

A European official allegedly told Fox News, “The sanctions are a step of actual consequence. European troop withdrawals are expected, but the changes seem marginal. The rest is your typical Trump pendulum.”

However, new sanctions have not yet disrupted physical crude exports from Russia’s western ports. Data from LSEG shows that shipments from Primorsk, Ust‑Luga, and Novorossiisk in October are expected to total around 2.33 million barrels per day, which matches Russia’s revised plan.

But traders say pressure is rising because India and Turkey, key buyers of Urals crude, are expected to follow Western restrictions.

The U.S. has set November 21 as the deadline to wind down all dealings with Rosneft and Lukoil, but since it takes about four weeks for shipments from Baltic ports to reach Indian refineries, barrels loaded now may arrive after the cutoff, creating payment and financing issues. Also, banks may refuse to process payments, and Russian sellers do not want to be paid in rupees.

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