In a case of diplomatic whiplash, a planned summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is now off the immediate agenda. A US official confirmed Tuesday that “no plans” exist for a meeting, just days after Trump announced one.
The Kremlin reinforced this message, stating there is “no precise timeframe” for a summit.
The confusion began last week when Trump, after a call with Putin, posted on social media that a Budapest meeting was set for within two weeks.
This led to a “productive” call on Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to arrange the details.
However, the anonymous US official said Tuesday that no further in-person meeting was “necessary” between the diplomats, and no presidential summit was scheduled. This is the latest “abrupt shift” from Trump, who boasts of his “personal chemistry” with Putin.