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President Donald Trump called off his meeting in Budapest, Hungary, with Russian President Vladimir Putin because he didn’t see enough progress toward peace — although a future summit hasn’t been ruled out, according to the White House.
While Trump and Putin spoke over the phone Oct. 16, plans for the meeting were scrapped after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday.
Trump “feels as though, unfortunately, from the Russian side as of late, he has not seen enough interest in enough action in terms of moving the ball forward toward peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “And so a meeting between these two leaders is not completely off the table. I think the president and the entire administration hopes that one day that can happen again, but we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting, and that it’s a good use of the president’s time.”
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Trump also has signaled in recent days that his patience has worn thin with Russia, and his administration slapped stringent sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies Wednesday.
Specifically, the sanctions freeze all U.S.-linked assets from the two companies and bar U.S. citizens from engaging in any business with them.
In response, Putin called the sanctions an “unfriendly act,” and warned that global oil prices could increase as a result. However, he also said that the sanctions would not majorly impact Moscow’s economy.
While Trump routinely has said in recent months that he has pleasant conversations with Putin, he’s also voiced frustration at the lack of progress made as he’s sought to mediate an end to the conflict. Trump also said Tuesday that he didn’t want to have a “wasted meeting” with Putin in Hungary.
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“The president wants to see action, not just talk,” Leavitt said. “And I think the president is extremely motivated by the success of his peace deal in the Middle East to get things done, and he wants this war to come to an end. He’s been saying it now for nine months, being in office, and he’s grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress from both sides of this war.”
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Wednesday to address ongoing negotiations to end the conflict.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters the meeting with Putin “didn’t feel right,” and explained why he wasn’t interested in arming Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles like he’d previously suggested he might.
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“There is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk. It’s a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon,” Trump said Wednesday. “And maybe that’s what makes it so complex. But it will take a year. It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it. And we’re not going to be teaching other people. It will be just too far out into the future.”
Meanwhile, Trump has voiced skepticism recently about whether Ukraine can win against Russia.
“They could still win it. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it,” Trump told reporters Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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