Trump-Putin summit cancelled after Moscow’s hardline memo to Washington, FT reports

The United States has called off a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow reiterated tough conditions on Ukraine, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The high-profile meeting, originally scheduled to take place in Budapest later this month, was abandoned following a tense phone call between top US and Russian diplomats, the report said.

According to the FT, the Kremlin had sent a memo to Washington outlining a series of demands viewed by US officials as unacceptable including territorial concessions by Ukraine, major cuts to its military, and guarantees that the country would not join NATO.

President Trump has supported an immediate ceasefire along existing frontlines, but Russia’s insistence on further Ukrainian withdrawals reportedly led Washington to suspend preparations for the summit.

The decision followed a conversation between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after which Rubio informed Trump that Moscow showed no real intent to compromise, the report added.

Officials from both the White House and the Russian government have yet to comment publicly on the development.