No plan, no meeting. At least not in the immediate future." The President of the United States Donald Trump and the Russian one Vladimir Putin "They won't see each other anytime soon," leaks from Washington. Five days after the long phone call between the two leaders, in which they had hypothesized a new face to face in Budapest within two weeks, everything could be called into question on peace negotiations in Ukraine.
Trump-Putin: Budapest summit on Ukraine cancelled
The statement by a "senior White House official", quoted by international agencies, follows a telephone conversation between Serghei Lavrov e Marco Rubio, defined by the same source as "productive". But during which the Russian Foreign Minister clearly told the American Secretary of State that Moscow remains opposed to an immediate ceasefire, hoped for in recent days by Trump and requested in a joint statement by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and by key European leaders. Regarding the possible new US-Russia summit, "neither President Trump nor President Putin have indicated specific dates. Preparation, serious preparation, is needed," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
According to Lavrov, a simple freeze on fighting would make us "forget the root causes of this conflict," which must be addressed in peace negotiations. First among these, according to Russia, NATO's expansion to the East, up to the possible entry of Ukraine into the Atlantic Alliance, which Moscow sees as a direct threat to its security. An immediate cessation of fighting, moreover, would go against the "agreements reached during lengthy negotiations" between Putin and Trump. at the August summit in Alaska, insisted Lavrov, who last February had praised the US president as "the only Western leader" who understood Russia's fears. And in Alaska, added Moscow's foreign minister, Trump had also argued that "we need a lasting and sustainable peace, not an immediate ceasefire."
Ukraine: The EU's response is a 12-point peace plan.
As for the statement by Zelensky and the Europeans, what a second Bloomberg they are working on their own 12-point peace planAccording to Moscow, this is merely an EU campaign to try to prevent a new confrontation between the American and Russian leaders. "There's no issue that interests them except how to harm Russia, undermine our positions, and make it harder for us to solve the problems we face," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused. "This is the sole objective of the EU's entire policy. They are the most destructive force on the international stage."
Ryabkov also denied a report from the CNN According to a report, a scheduled in-person meeting between Lavrov and Rubio had been postponed. "I would like to emphasize that it is impossible to suspend something that has not yet been agreed upon," said the deputy minister, adding that the issue of a meeting "was not raised in any specific way before or during yesterday's conversation" between the two foreign ministers. "It exists as an idea, but it is premature to talk about a date," Ryabkov added.
Il Wall Street Journal Finally, he cites American, European, and Ukrainian officials who claim that during the meeting at the White House last Friday, Trump told Zelensky not only that he would not hand over the long-range Tomahawk missiles, but also that the return of Donbass, largely occupied by Russian troops, to Ukraine was not a priority at all.
EU Plan: Increase Pressure on Russian Economy and Defense Industry
The plan, made known by Bloomberg, outlines the possible boundaries of peace once hostilities have stopped. "We are all united in the desire for a just and lasting peace, which the Ukrainian people deserve: Russia's delaying tactics have repeatedly demonstrated that Ukraine is the only party seriously intent on achieving peace, and it is clear to everyone that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction," the leaders declared. United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Norway, Finland and the European institutions in tandem with Zelensky — later they will also join Spain e Sweden.
“We need to increase the pressure on the Russian economy and on his defense industry, until Putin is ready for peace,” the statement reads. “We are developing measures to take full advantage of the value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets, so that Ukraine has the resources it needs,” the leaders said, recalling that they will meet in the European Council and in the coalition of the willing “to discuss how to take this work forward and further support Ukraine”.
