Washington, 22 october 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin only when a productive summit can be expected.

Trump did not directly confirm media reports suggesting that a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart had been put on hold or delayed.

However, when asked by a reporter what he knew about the alleged change of plans and whether it would affect his stance on a potential US sale of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, he said: "I don't want to have a wasted meeting."

"I don't want to have a waste of time, so I'll see what happens," Trump added in the Oval Office.

Trump said no decision had been made yet and it was unclear whether he was referring to a potential meeting with Putin or the question of long-range missile sales to Ukraine.

He said he would provide an update within the next two days and reiterated his view that the front lines in Ukraine should be frozen as part of any effort to end the conflict.

Several US media outlets had earlier reported that Trump's planned meeting with Putin in Budapest appears increasingly uncertain.

News website Politico reported, citing the White House, that the planned meeting in Budapest was no longer in the works after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.

CNN also reported, citing White House sources, that the summit could be delayed, with a preliminary meeting between Rubio and Lavrov — seen as a key step before the presidents meet — put on hold.

NBC News said the Monday call had been "productive," but that officials believed Russia and Ukraine were not ready for serious peace talks.

The Washington Post also reported that there were no plans for a meeting in the near future.

An enquiry by dpa to the White House and the State Department initially went unanswered.

Trump had announced on Thursday that he wanted to meet with Putin in Budapest to discuss the war in Ukraine. The US president did not specify a date - but shortly afterwards spoke of "probably in the next two weeks."

Trump praises India's cutbacks on Russian oil imports

Trump expressed continued optimism about efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine, which started more than three and a half years ago. He said he believed both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky want the conflict to end, and that it ultimately would.

The US president also praised relations with India and its prime minister, Narendra Modi. Trump said Modi, like himself, wants to see the war in Ukraine come to a close.

He added that India had sharply reduced its imports of Russian oil, as requested by the US, and intended to maintain that policy.

Trump last week said that India no longer wants to purchase oil from Russia. While the government of the world's most populous country had agreed to increase energy imports from the US, it had initially left unclear whether it would fully halt the controversial oil shipments from Russia.

Trump had previously criticized New Delhi over its oil dealings with Moscow and imposed additional tariffs on India in response.

Photo: MIA archive