The Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest will not be held in the foreseeable future, writes the BBC, citing a statement from a White House official.

Although Donald Trump had previously said that the Budapest meeting could take place within two weeks, Tuesday's Lavrov-Rubio phone call may have cooled things down considerably, as the two foreign ministers no longer consider a personal meeting necessary.

It is not yet known what led to the two top diplomats' negotiations, but according to one source, the postponement was because Lavrov has different ideas regarding the possible end of the Russian-Ukrainian war. This, of course, means that not only Lavrov thinks differently, but also the Russian leadership, collectively, with Vladimir Putin at its head.

This may also be related to what we wrote in the spring: that if the conflict were to be frozen along the current front lines (a plan currently cherished by Donald Trump), it would be very difficult to sell it as a victory in Russia, especially when contrasted with the war goals outlined by the Russian leadership in 2022.

Sergei Lavrov himself emphasized on Monday that Russia is interested in lasting peace, which freezing the conflict along the current front line would not make possible.

On October 16, Donald Trump announced after a phone call with Putin that a personal meeting with the Russian president was planned, to be held in Budapest. This was followed by a tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, where Trump cursed and shouted at the Ukrainian president to try to pressure him into a deal with the Russians. However, he later denied that he had tried to blackmail Zelensky into handing over Donbass.