The meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which was supposed to precede the meeting in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, has been postponed, claims CNN, citing informed sources.
As a White House representative told CNN, the Rubio-Lavrov meeting will not take place for now because they "have different expectations regarding the possible cessation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
After the phone conversation between Trump and Putin last Thursday, the parties limited themselves to official statements.
However, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that after the conversation between Rubio and Lavrov, officials concluded that Russia's position had not changed and remained maximalist. According to the source, at the moment, Rubio is unlikely to recommend a meeting between Putin and Trump next week, but Rubio and Lavrov may talk again this week.