US Meeting With Putin Canceled Amid Stalled Negotiations: Trump

‘Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,’ the U.S. president said.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Oct. 22 that he has, for now, canceled an upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to stalled diplomatic negotiations and limited progress.

“We canceled the meeting with President Putin, it just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump said. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we'll do it in the future.”

Trump also suggested that when he does speak to Putin, the negotiations continuously stall.

“I think that, in terms of honesty, the only thing I can say is, every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” Trump said.

The U.S. president said Putin is fighting a war with “two very competent sides,” but that it’s time to end hostilities with Ukraine.

“You never know with war, but I would say that it’s time, it’s time to make a deal,” Trump said.

“A lot of people are dying. You know, they’re not Americans, but they’re people, they’re souls, and they’re dying by the thousands, worst since World War II, and we really should stop it.”

The announcement comes one day after a White House official told The Epoch Times that Trump had canceled his upcoming meeting with Putin after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a “productive call.”

“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,” the official said.

Trump had said earlier on Tuesday that he didn’t want a “wasted meeting” with Putin.

“We'll be notifying you over the next two days as to what we’re doing,” he said.

The Trump administration has been ramping up pressure on Putin to end the war.

Last week, War Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Moscow that the United States and its NATO allies would “impose costs” on Russia if it didn’t quickly end the war in Ukraine.

Hegseth said the United States and Europe were sending a “clear message” to Russia.

“Now is the time to end this tragic war, stop the needless bloodshed, and come to the peace table,” he said.

The Trump administration has also increased sanctions and tariffs on Moscow, including imposing secondary tariffs on nations that purchase Russian oil.

On Oct. 16, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said the Senate would soon vote on a bill to grant Trump the authority to impose sweeping secondary sanctions on nations that continue to buy oil from Moscow.

Under the bill’s provisions, the United States would impose 500 percent tariffs on all Russian goods and services, as well as those of nations that buy Russian uranium and petroleum products.

Arjun Singh and Emel Akan contributed to this report.