Russia Plays Down Expectations for Early Putin-Trump Summit

The Kremlin sought to tamp down expectations for a quick summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump as European leaders urged an immediate ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

“The work ahead will be challenging,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, according to the Interfax news service. “Neither President Trump nor President Putin have given a precise timeframe. Preparation, serious preparation, is needed.”

On Thursday, Trump announced after phone talks with the Russian leader that they’d meet in Budapest, Hungary, “within two weeks or so” to try to reach a deal to stop the ...