MOSCOW: Moscow on Tuesday doused hopes of a swift meeting of the Russian and US foreign ministers to prepare for a speedy summit between their leaders over the Ukraine war.
Following a phone call last week, the Russian and US leaders Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump announced they would meet in Budapest for talks on resolving the war in Ukraine, triggered by Moscow’s February 2022 all-out offensive.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio spoke on Monday to discuss preparations for the summit, and are expected to meet in person to finalize details.
Trump said the meeting with Putin could take place within two weeks, though that timeline appears to be slipping away.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday it was “premature to talk about the schedule” of the preparatory Lavrov-Rubio meeting.
