President Trump and President Putin’s meeting in Hungary just got canceled, after a call between Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov.
According to Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich, the White House is saying the meeting is no longer necessary:
per senior White House official, “Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call. Therefore, an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
BUDAPEST NOT HAPPENING:
per senior White House official, “Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call. Therefore, an additional in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet…
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) October 21, 2025
I think ‘productive’ sounds good. But it could also mean that, while productive, not enough concessions were made by Russia to necessitate a top-level meeting. That’s how I interpret it.