Trump Cancels Putin Meeting, Cites “Didn’t Feel Right” as Reason
US President calls off planned summit with Russian leader, as new sanctions target Moscow’s oil sector amid stalled negotiations on Ukraine conflict.
WASHINGTON, Oct 23: US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has cancelled his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing stalled diplomatic progress.
“It just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding, “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
The decision follows earlier talks, including a two and a half hour phone conversation with Putin last week, which Trump described as having “great progress”, though no breakthrough was achieved. The cancellation also came after a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Trump’s announcement coincided with the unveiling of new US sanctions targeting Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, part of ongoing efforts to pressure Moscow over its military operations in Ukraine. He emphasized that the measures are intended to be temporary and expressed hope for a resolution to the conflict.
During discussions with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump reiterated that previous conversations with Putin have “not gone anywhere” and stressed the need for a deal to end the war, highlighting his continued efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
The US President has also engaged with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, urging both sides to cease hostilities and claim victory, following his earlier mediation in Gaza. Trump’s high profile summit with Putin in Alaska in August similarly ended without an agreement, reflecting ongoing challenges in US led diplomatic efforts.
