Trump Weighs Potential Summit with Putin, Warns Against Holding ‘Pointless’ Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said that a decision has not yet been made regarding a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, emphasizing that he does not want the summit to take place “in vain.”

The Gaze reports this, referring to a White House broadcast.

Speaking to reporters on October 21, Trump noted he was carefully weighing whether such a meeting would yield tangible results. “I don’t want to waste time. So we’ll see what happens,” he stated.

Trump added that no final decision has been made about the encounter. When pressed by reporters, he clarified that he did not consider a meeting with Putin a waste of time but cautioned that “a lot can happen.”

“There’s a lot going on between Ukraine and Russia on the front line,” he said. “We’ll let you know in the next couple of days what we’re doing.”

The comments come amid uncertainty surrounding the proposed Trump–Putin summit in Budapest, which had initially been discussed as a possible step toward advancing ceasefire talks.

According to Western media reports, after a recent phone call between the two leaders, Russia submitted an informal document to Washington repeating its maximalist demands for ending the war against Ukraine – conditions deemed unacceptable by Kyiv.

Russia’s refusal to agree to an immediate ceasefire has reportedly cast doubt over the feasibility of the meeting. 

A senior White House official told reporters that the administration currently sees “no reason” to proceed with the preparatory talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, which were meant to pave the way for a high-level meeting.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó dismissed reports about the cancellation of the preparatory talks as “an attempt by pro-war circles” to sabotage the summit.

As The Gaze previously reported, expectations for an early summit in Budapest are fading as Russia maintains ambiguity over the timing and conditions of such a meeting.