FT: Trump-Putin meeting canceled due to Russia's tough demands on Ukraine

The United States has canceled a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Budapest after Moscow sent a memorandum to Washington reiterating its tough demands on Ukraine. This was reported by the Financial Times with reference to unnamed interlocutors familiar with the matter.

According to the newspaper, the meeting was canceled after the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note reiterating its conditions for addressing what Putin calls the "root causes" of the war.

Russia's demands were limited to territorial concessions from Ukraine, a reduction in the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and guarantees that the country would never join NATO.

This was followed by a "tense conversation " between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio .

According to one of the FT's sources, Rubio told Trump that Moscow "has shown no willingness to negotiate.".

Another interlocutor noted that Trump "was not impressed with their position.".

• on October 16, Trump had a phone conversation with Putin. They agreed that would meet within two weeks in Budapest.
• However, on October 23, Trump announced the cancellation of the summit. He says he will not meet with the Russian dictator until there is a real prospect of signing a peace deal.