MOSCOW: Russia has downplayed expectations of a swift meeting between foreign ministers to prepare for an upcoming summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
Following their phone call last week, both leaders announced they would meet in Budapest for talks on resolving the Ukraine war, which Moscow invaded in February 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio spoke on Monday to discuss summit preparations and are expected to meet in person to finalise details.
Trump had suggested the meeting with Putin could occur within two weeks, though that timeline now appears uncertain.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated on Tuesday it was “premature to talk about the schedule” of the preparatory Lavrov-Rubio meeting.
“Neither before the phone call nor during yesterday’s call was the meeting specifically raised,“ Ryabkov told Russian state news agencies.
“Any such significant contact should be properly prepared,“ he added, noting that “a ‘homework’ phase” must be first completed.
Trump, who previously claimed he could settle the Ukraine war in hours, has shown frustration with both Moscow and Kyiv over the failure to broker peace.
Putin has rejected multiple ceasefire calls and maintained hardline demands that Kyiv considers unacceptable.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who seeks to attend the Budapest summit, has ruled out territorial concessions.
The previous Putin-Trump summit in Alaska ended early without achieving a peace deal breakthrough. – AFP
