Trump-Putin summit called off as Europe pushes for a ceasefire

Plans to hold a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest have been put on hold as Ukraine and its European allies rallied in pushing for a ceasefire without territorial concessions from Kyiv.

- Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor

The White House said there were now "no plans" for the US president to meet his Russian counterpart "in the immediate future" as a round of diplomacy at the end of last week failed to yield any significant progress towards ending the war.

The statement followed a Monday phone call between Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, at which Lavrov said his country's negotiating position remained unchanged.

Lavrov said: "I want to officially confirm: Russia has not changed its position compared to the under standings that were reached during the Alaska summit." He had told Rubio this the day before, he added.

Putting the Budapest summit on hold represents the end of a short diplomatic cycle that began with a call last Thursday between Trump and Putin.

During that call, Putin reportedly proposed giving up parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces occupied by Russian forces, in return for all of Donetsk, a heavily fortified area long sought by Moscow but considered by Kyiv to be the gateway to central Ukraine.