President Trump made it clear he will not meet with Vladimir Putin unless a genuine path to peace in Ukraine is on the table, and he has paused a planned Budapest sit-down while pushing sanctions and other pressure points. He emphasized past diplomatic wins, cited recent meetings with world leaders, and framed future talks with China as tied to trade and fentanyl control. This article reports his remarks and the surrounding context, keeping his quoted words intact.
On board Air Force One after departing Qatar, Trump laid out a blunt condition for any new summit with Putin, saying, “I’m going to have to know that we’re going to make a deal.” He added his instincts on time and leverage plainly: “I’m not going to be wasting my time. I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing.” That pair of lines sets the tone for his current approach to Moscow.
Trump suggested the Ukraine conflict should have been wrapped up sooner, noting it ought to have been settled “long before” the Israel-Hamas peace efforts moved forward. He pointed to other diplomatic wins as proof of what decisive American leadership can achieve, referencing the Azerbaijan and Armenia talks he hosted last year. The president also recalled a phone call in which, in his words, ‘Boy, that was amazing,’ after brokering that difficult summit.
He contrasted those earlier successes with the stalled Russia-Ukraine talks and reflected on deals elsewhere, including India and Pakistan, to underline that complex negotiations are possible when parties are ready. Trump argued that many of the arrangements he has made were harder on paper than getting Russia and Ukraine to the table. The point was simple: deal-making works when all sides want a deal.
On the personal dynamics that complicate any agreement, Trump sounded realistic about the obstacles, saying, “There’s a lot of hatred between the two, between [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and Putin, there’s tremendous hatred.” That line acknowledged the deep animosity that has to be overcome before any meaningful compromise can be struck. He used that reality to justify his decision-making on whether to pursue a high-level meeting.
Earlier this week he said he called off a planned meeting in Budapest because he judged it a “waste of time” unless the conditions for progress were real, and he had announced the Budapest meeting only days prior with the expectation it might occur within a couple of weeks. In short, the meeting is off for now until there are signs that talks would produce tangible results. That posture reflects a transactional view of diplomacy: meetings must produce outcomes.
Trump also pointed to stepped-up pressure on Moscow, announcing sanctions against Russia this week as part of his broader leverage strategy. He noted that he and Putin last met in Alaska in August without reaching a deal, and he framed the Alaska summit as further proof that simply sitting down is not enough. The overall message was to combine readiness to negotiate with firm consequences for bad behavior.
At the same time, Trump continues to engage other global leaders, meeting with Zelensky at the White House last week and handling Taiwan and trade issues across the Pacific. He denied Ukraine’s request for Tomahawk long-range missiles during that exchange, according to his remarks, signaling restraint in weapons promises while pressing for negotiated outcomes. Looking ahead to his meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump said he wants a “complete [trade] deal” and emphasized domestic priorities like American farmers when talking about any package.
On the fentanyl crisis and China, Trump made clear those topics will be front and center in talks, noting, “I want our farmers to be taken care of, and he wants things also.” He stressed the human toll of the drug flow, saying, “We’re going to be talking about fentanyl, of course. Fentanyl is killing a lot of people, a lot people. It comes from China, and we’ll be talking a lot about that. We’ll be talking about a lot things. I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal.” Those lines show he is tying trade leverage to concrete public safety concerns.
