WASHINGTON D.C: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (US local time) he did not want a “wasted meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin after plans for face-to-face talks on the war in Ukraine were put on hold.

Speaking at the White House, Trump suggested that Moscow’s refusal to stop fighting along the current front line remained the main obstacle to any progress.

A White House official confirmed there were “no plans” for a Trump-Putin meeting “in the immediate future,” despite Trump’s earlier announcement that the two leaders would meet in Budapest within two weeks.

The delay comes as sharp differences between Washington and Moscow’s peace proposals have become increasingly apparent, dimming hopes for a breakthrough.

The two leaders last met in Alaska in August, during a hastily arranged summit that produced no tangible outcomes.

Observers believe the White House’s decision to shelve a second meeting aims to avoid a repeat of that inconclusive encounter.

“I guess the Russians wanted too much, and it became evident for the Americans that there will be no deal for Trump in Budapest,” a senior European diplomat told Reuters.

A planned preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was also scrapped after the two reportedly had a “productive” phone call, which the White House said made an in-person session “unnecessary.”

On Monday, Trump publicly backed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and European allies, calling for the conflict to be frozen along the current front line.

“Let it be cut the way it is,” Trump said. “Stop at the battle line. Go home. Stop fighting, stop killing people.”

Russia, however, has dismissed the idea of freezing the existing front line. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s position “doesn’t change,” reiterating demands for the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the eastern regions.

Foreign Minister Lavrov added that Russia seeks a “long-term, sustainable peace,” implying that halting the war at current positions would merely create a temporary truce rather than resolve the conflict.