US President Donald Trump announced that he had cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was scheduled to take place in Budapest. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he did not feel it was appropriate to go ahead with the meeting.

"It just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump said during a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”

Denies US role in long-range strikes on Russia

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Trump also dismissed a report by the Wall Street Journal claiming the US had approved Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russian territory.

“The U.S. has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them!” Trump asserted on Truth Social, denying any US involvement in such operations.

Despite canceling the Putin meeting, Trump confirmed that he will hold an extended meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his upcoming trip to South Korea. The discussions are expected to cover a range of bilateral and regional issues.

Trump discusses Ukraine ceasefire with NATO’s Rutte

Earlier, President Trump met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office to discuss ongoing negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in Ukraine.

“Regarding Ukraine-Russia, we thought it would be a little bit easier. That’s turned out to be tougher than the Middle East,” Trump stated. “The Middle East was supposed to be the tough one, and we’ve solved that puzzle, but this one will get solved also.”

Rutte expressed strong support for Trump’s efforts, stating that NATO hopes to “deliver on your vision of peace in Ukraine.”