U.S. President Donald Trump announced at the White House that he was canceling the planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He cited lack of progress in diplomatic efforts and a sense that the timing was wrong as the reasons behind his decision.

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.

U.S. President Donald Trump

Trump expressed his disappointment with the stalled negotiations:

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.

U.S. President Donald Trump

The summit’s cancellation came after the White House announced new sanctions targeting Russian oil exports, aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow amid its ongoing military operations in Ukraine. Trump expressed hope that the measures would be temporary.

U.S. Sanctions Decision Against Russia

Trump announced the sanctions on Russia’s top oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, stating: “I felt the time had come, I waited a long time. These are very heavy sanctions.”

He described the measures as sending a clear message to Moscow: “These are very significant sanctions against their two largest oil companies, and we hope they will not be long-lasting. We hope the war will end.”

Nuclear arms discussions

Trump revealed that nuclear weapons were raised in his recent phone call with Putin: “Putin mentioned reducing tensions around nuclear arms. I think that is a good thing.”

He emphasized that the U.S. has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world and remains open to talks with Russia and China on disarmament.

NATO support

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed confidence in Trump’s influence over Putin, saying, “I believe Trump can persuade Putin to stop the war.” He reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to continued support for Ukraine.