Moscow, Oct 24 – Russian President Vladimir Putin said the cancelled talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Budapest were disappointing, but he stressed that dialogue remains the best path to end the war in Ukraine. “Dialogue is always better than confrontation or war,” Putin told reporters, urging both sides to avoid “light‑hearted” meetings that leave no results.
Putin noted that Washington had proposed the summit, but Trump has postponed it again. He warned that the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil, will not change Moscow’s behaviour. “No self‑respecting country does anything under pressure,” he said, calling the new measures a “futile attempt” to force compliance. The Treasury said the goal was to limit Russia’s war funding.
The sanctions, announced after Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire, strike Russia’s biggest oil producers and their subsidiaries. Putin said the move could disrupt global energy markets and raise oil prices worldwide. “We made it clear that this would affect global oil prices, including the U.S.,” he added.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the sanctions, saying they weaken the Kremlin’s war‑making capacity. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S. step “counterproductive.” Maria Zakharova told Tass the sanctions would have no effect on Moscow, citing the country’s “strong immunity.” She also said Russian officials see “no significant obstacles” to continuing talks and are ready to set concrete steps for a Ukrainian settlement.
Trump, after meeting NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte at the White House, reiterated his hope that the war would be settled soon. He said the sanctions were large but hoped they would not last long and that a deal was needed. “Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere,” he said. “He is fighting a war, and it’s two competent sides. It’s time to make a deal.”
On Tuesday, Trump announced the cancellation of the Budapest meeting, saying it “didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get.” He said the meeting would be resumed in the future when it could produce tangible outcomes.
The drama underscores the fragile state of Russia‑U.S. relations and the urgent need for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis, while energy markets and global politics watch closely for the next move.
Source: ianslive
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