Trump abandons carrot and wields stick over Putin in Ukraine talks
Trump Cancels Planned Budapest Summit as Tensions with Russia Escalate
One week ago, it felt like Groundhog Day — or as the Russians call it, Dyen Surka.
Just as Washington was signaling new pressure on Moscow by supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone. The result was the announcement of a U.S.-Russia summit to be held in Budapest.
It was a familiar scene. Last August, amid similar tensions over potential U.S. sanctions, Putin met with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, which led to the announcement of a summit in Alaska.
But this time, the pattern broke. The Alaska summit took place, albeit with limited preparation and few results. The Budapest summit, however, was canceled almost as quickly as it was announced.
“It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get,” President Trump told reporters when asked why he called it off.
Until now, President Trump had generally avoided escalating pressure on Russia, favoring diplomatic engagement and what he often called a “carrot, not stick” approach. But this week, the White House signaled a shift. The president imposed sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil — a direct challenge to Moscow’s energy sector and, symbolically, to the Kremlin itself.
The move underscores Washington’s growing frustration with Russia’s refusal to make concessions toward ending the conflict in Ukraine.
Still, as the old saying goes, the Russians don’t take kindly to sticks.
President Putin called the new sanctions “an unfriendly act” and “an attempt to put pressure on Russia,” declaring, “no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decide anything under pressure.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev went even further in his response.
“The USA is our enemy and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully set on the path to war with Russia,” he wrote on social media. “The decisions that have been taken are an act of war against Russia.”
Meanwhile, the Moscow tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets criticized “the capriciousness and fickleness of [Russia’s] main negotiating partner,” noting that American diplomacy appeared unpredictable and inconsistent.
Before the cancellation, Trump had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to ensure there was a clear purpose for the Budapest meeting. But it quickly became clear that no major breakthrough was likely, especially given deep disagreements over Ukraine.
Russia has made it clear that it intends to control the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to resist surrendering any territory still under Kyiv’s control.
For the Kremlin, a second summit with Trump would have been a symbolic victory — much like the Alaska meeting, which Russian media hailed as proof that Moscow remained an indispensable player on the world stage despite Western attempts at isolation.
Over the past week, Russian outlets had celebrated the prospect of a Budapest summit that excluded the European Union, portraying it as a diplomatic snub to Brussels. But even among Russian commentators, few believed the meeting would produce meaningful results.
Some hardliners urged continued fighting. “There isn’t a single reason Moscow should agree to a ceasefire,” Moskovsky Komsomolets declared.
While Moscow insists it seeks peace, it wants it strictly on its own terms — which include halting NATO expansion and ensuring Ukraine remains within Russia’s sphere of influence. Those conditions remain unacceptable to both Kyiv and Washington.
As tensions rise and rhetoric hardens, one question remains: will President Trump ramp up pressure on Moscow even further, or will diplomacy eventually circle back to where it began?
Because in the strange rhythm of U.S.-Russia relations, Groundhog Day may not be over after all.
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