Officials in both Washington and Moscow moved on Tuesday to deny that a summit between Trump and Putin is imminent, contradicting President Trump’s recent claims.
A US official, speaking anonymously, said there are “no plans” for a meeting in the “immediate future.” The Kremlin’s spokesperson similarly stated there is “no precise timeframe.”
This clarification was needed after Trump, following a Thursday call with Putin, posted on social media that a Budapest summit would happen “within two weeks.”
The president’s announcement did lead to diplomatic action: a “productive” call on Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Despite the call, the US official confirmed the summit was not on the immediate schedule and that a follow-up meeting between the diplomats was “not necessary.”