Trump-Putin summit planned for Budapest about the war in Ukraine is on hold after Rubio spoke with Lavrov, US officials have said.
The meeting had been announced last week, although a date had not been set.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated Tuesday there was no sense of urgency. “Preparation is needed, serious preparation,” he told reporters.
The decision was made following a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly.
The announcement comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders from across Europe in accusing Russia of “stalling” over talks to end the war with Ukraine.
The European leaders’ statement follows reports that Trump had tossed aside maps of the front line in Ukraine and suggested Zelensky surrender the entire eastern Donbas region during tense White House exchanges last week.
The leaders – including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen – said: “We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”
The leaders of Ukraine, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, the European Commission and European Council, said: “We are all united in our desire for a just and lasting peace, deserved by the people of Ukraine.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.
“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”
The European leaders said Putin was not serious about the peace process.
“Russia’s stalling tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace,” they said.
“We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction.”
They said Ukraine should be put in the “strongest possible position” before, during and after any ceasefire.
The leaders confirmed they were developing measures to use the “full value” of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets to support Ukraine – currently only profits on the assets have been used.
The European Council will meet on Thursday ahead of a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” group convened by Starmer and Macron on Friday.
Trump has resisted calls to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv and reports of the exchanges during last week’s meeting with Mr Zelensky suggest relations with Ukraine took another downturn in the wake of his latest conversation with Mr Putin.
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