Trump "was not impressed": the reason for canceling the meeting with Putin in Budapest became known

Within a few days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation sent its memorandum, in which it emphasized the requirements regarding the so-called "root causes" of a full-scale invasion. This was reported in the FT on October 31, citing three people familiar with the situation. In particular, it was about territorial concessions, a sharp reduction of the armed forces and guarantees that Ukraine would never become a member of NATO.

In addition, there was a telephone conversation between the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, and the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. After that, a US official told Trump that Moscow was not ready for negotiations. According to the sources, the Republican "was not impressed" by the Russian position and canceled the summit in Budapest.

The publication emphasized that the decision to cancel the meeting was "the culmination of a significant turn in US policy" a week before Trump appeared to have sided with Putin over the refusal to supply Tomahawk missiles. However, American officials had growing doubts about the productivity of negotiations with the Russian Federation, and were struck by Lavrov's intransigence during a meeting with Rubio in September. The Russian minister lied that Ukraine was ruled by "Nazis".

"Lavrov is clearly tired and seems to think that he has more important things to do than meetings or negotiations with the United States, regardless of what President Putin wants," said one of the unnamed media interlocutors. Sources said that Trump is still open to meeting with the Russians, but only if it has any prospects.

It is reported that although he called the telephone conversation with Putin "very productive", he was actually irritated by the boasting of successes at the front in the Kupyansk region. The next day, according to the newspaper, the leader pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to make concessions, stressing that he was "fed up" with the maps. It is noted that during the summit in Alaska and the last telephone conversation, Putin demanded control over Donbas.

However, giving up these territories is unacceptable for Zelenskyi. After the summit was canceled, Washington stepped up pressure on Moscow by imposing sanctions on its biggest oil producers. In addition, Trump criticized Putin for testing nuclear weapons. The Kremlin tried to blame Ukraine and Europe for the failure of the progress allegedly achieved in Alaska.

However, according to the publication, then Trump prematurely ended the meeting when Putin rejected his peace plan and wanted more Ukrainian lands, resorting to a long excursion into "history". Former intelligence officer Peter Schroeder said that the head of the Kremlin was also "disappointed". "He cannot make him understand the situation from his point of view or force him to change his policy," the expert explained.

Lavrov said that Putin allegedly communicated his agreement to Washington's peace proposals, but did not receive a direct response. At the same time, he criticized the idea of ​​an immediate ceasefire and accused Europe of trying to force the US administration to "give in. " Trump supported Russia's call for an agreement, but later returned to the demand for a cease-fire.

It will be recalled that ISW analysts reported that US President Donald Trump announced the testing of nuclear weapons after "loud statements" from Russia. The Russians tested their own Burevesnyk missile, which supposedly has no equal and which is supposed to force the West to "bow down" to the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. On October 30, the Kremlin announced that the "Burevesnyk" tests were not nuclear.