CaliToday (22/10/2025): High-stakes peace talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been abruptly called off after Russia refused to accept America’s terms for a ceasefire in Ukraine, the White House confirmed on Tuesday.
 |
| Donald Trump had announced the second proposed summit with Vladimir Putin last week - ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP |
The US president will not meet his Russian counterpart "in the immediate future," a spokesperson said, after a preparatory phone call between their top diplomats turned sour. The breakdown scuttles a planned summit in Hungary and signals a major setback in Washington's efforts to end the war.
The impasse was declared by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Russia would not agree to a ceasefire that "froze the front lines."
"An immediate ceasefire in Ukraine would mean only one thing: most of it would remain under Nazi rule," Mr. Lavrov stated, in a clear indication that Russia is still determined to achieve regime change in Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies immediately seized on the Kremlin's refusal, accusing Putin of deploying "stalling tactics."
Sensing an opportunity in Russia's hardline stance, Europe swiftly dispatched NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to brief President Trump on a separate 12-point peace plan. The proposal is being drafted by the "coalition of the willing," the European grouping of countries supporting Ukraine.
The Breakdown of Talks
Preparations for the Trump-Putin meeting, which the US president suggested last week could happen "within two weeks," descended into acrimony when Moscow canceled a planned face-to-face meeting in Hungary between Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Rubio.
 |
| A phone call between Marco Rubio (left) and Sergei Lavrov reportedly did not go well - FAZRY ISMAIL/EPA/Shutterstock |
Instead, the pair held a phone call on Monday, during which the Russian foreign minister unequivocally rejected America's terms.
Signaling the talks' collapse, a White House official on Tuesday described the call as "productive," and added: "Therefore, an additional in-person meeting between the secretary and foreign minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future."
When asked why the summit was canceled, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he didn't want to "have a wasted meeting."
"I don’t want to have a waste of time, so I’ll see what happens," Mr. Trump said, adding that he still "sees a chance" for a ceasefire.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, attempted to downplay the cancellation. "Listen, we have an understanding of the presidents, but we cannot postpone what has not been finalised," said spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Neither President Trump nor President Putin gave exact dates."
Russia's Unchanged Demands
The failed summit preparations have exposed that Moscow's maximalist war aims, including the ousting of Mr. Zelensky, have not softened since the two presidents' last meeting in Alaska in August.
"I want to officially confirm: Russia has not changed its position compared to the understandings that were reached during the Alaska summit," Mr. Lavrov said.
Russia has long demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the entirety of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a precondition for peace.
During a two-hour phone call on Thursday, Putin reportedly told Trump he would relinquish claims over unoccupied parts of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in exchange for a complete Ukrainian surrender of the two Donbas regions.
 |
| Steve Witkoff (centre) speaks in southern Israel on Tuesday. He has regularly met with Vladimir Putin - Nathan Howard/REUTERS |
This followed a "bruising" White House meeting on Friday, where Mr. Trump reportedly pressured President Zelensky to surrender the Donetsk region to Russia—a "red line" for the Ukrainian leader. Though Mr. Trump later appeared to walk back this pressure, insisting he wanted to see the fighting "stop at the lines where they are," the visit "had not gone as Zelensky hoped," according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Mr. Zelensky's plea at the White House for long-range Tomahawk missiles also went unanswered.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president wrote on social media: "The front line can be the beginning of diplomacy. Meanwhile, Russia is once again doing everything to avoid diplomacy."
Europe Seizes the Initiative
Buoyed by Russia's refusal to negotiate, European leaders are sensing an opportunity to sway Mr. Trump back toward Kyiv's position.
"I see it as a positive development," a Western official told The Telegraph. "Russia has been clear their position has not changed so why the meeting?"
The "coalition of the willing" is now finalizing its own 12-point peace plan to be presented to Mr. Trump on Wednesday. The pact will demand that the "current line of contact" be the starting point for any future talks, and states, "We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force."
The plan also includes points such as the return of stolen Ukrainian children, a rapid pathway to European Union membership, and reconstruction reparations.
Sources said Europe's proposal was modeled on Mr. Trump’s recent peace deal for Gaza, an idea credited to Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, as a way of "playing on the American’s ego."
The plan will be discussed at a meeting of the coalition hosted in London by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Friday, which Mr. Zelensky will attend in person.
War Intensifies as Diplomacy Fails
As the diplomatic track collapsed, reports emerged of significant military escalations.
On Tuesday night, it was revealed that Ukrainian forces had used British-made Storm Shadow missiles to strike the Bryansk Chemical plant in Russia. The plant is deemed critical to Putin's war machine, producing gunpowder, explosives, and rocket fuel.
Meanwhile, Russia has been accused of shooting innocent civilians in the Donetsk region garrison town of Pokrovsk. Moscow’s forces have been attempting to seize the key logistical hub for months. Drone footage shared on Telegram showed the aftermath of an attack by small infiltration groups, with bodies strewn on the road.
The footage also captured what one Ukrainian volunteer called a "moment of heart-stopping bravery," as a young man ran into the open, picked up a female survivor shot in the legs, and carried her in his arms down the road to safety.
CaliToday.Net