Reuters reported on October 21 that after talking to Putin, Trump announced that U.S. Secretary of State Rubio would meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov this week to prepare for a possible summit between leaders in Budapest in two weeks.

CNN cited White House sources reporting that the recent planned meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio has been indefinitely postponed. CNN also cited an insider's statement that there are differences between the two sides on a potential ceasefire plan.

TASS reported on October 21 that Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zarakhova responded to Reuters and CNN's reports, saying that Western media is accustomed to creating a rumor themselves and then debunking it on their own.

Zarakhova said: "This situation can only be described in one sentence: 'The CNN leak overturned the Reuters rumor.' I can give you advice: don't participate in this information farce."

After talking to Putin, Trump posted on the social platform "Truth Social" stating that before the Russia-U.S. summit, Rubio would hold talks with "pending" people. While Reuters reported that Rubio would meet with Lavrov.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov commented on the news, pointing out that a meeting that has never reached an agreement is "unavoidable," and stated that no specific plans currently mention topics related to the meeting.

Additionally, Kremlin Spokesman Peskov also said: "We understand the consensus between the two presidents, but we cannot delay a meeting that has not been finalized yet. Neither President Trump nor President Putin has given an exact date."

"We need to prepare, serious preparation," Peskov said, "this may take time. That is why no specific date was set from the beginning."

When asked whether the Russian side had any preliminary ideas about the possible date of the Russia-U.S. leaders' summit, Peskov replied: "No, there is currently no relevant consensus."

Peskov also clarified other related rumors, stating that the Russian side considers the report that "Putin and Trump will fly to Budapest on the same plane" as nonsense. It is too early to discuss the participation of EU leaders in the Hungarian summit.

TASS reported on the 21st that after his meeting with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gidion, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated at a press conference that during his telephone conversation with Rubio, both sides confirmed their commitment to fulfill all agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States.

Lavrov emphasized that the key issue in organizing the Russia-U.S. summit is not the location and time of the meeting, but rather the effective advancement of the tasks planned at the previous Alaska summit.

Lavrov said: "We reiterate our firm commitment to proceed with the work according to the understanding and agreements reached by President Putin and President Trump, especially the content achieved during the Alaska meeting and subsequent phone communications."

Lavrov told reporters that he had reached a consensus with Rubio to continue communicating via phone to exchange positions and stay on the right track.

On October 17, Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House, where they focused on discussions about supplying weapons to Ukraine and the possible Russia-U.S. summit in Budapest. Zelensky later admitted that representatives of the Trump team requested Kyiv to withdraw from the Donbas region during the meeting. Other media reported the results of the meeting, stating that Trump had refused to provide "Tomahawk" cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on October 20 that Lavrov and Rubio had held a telephone conversation, discussing specific feasible measures to implement the consensus reached during the telephone negotiations between Russian President Putin and U.S. President Trump on October 16. After talking to Putin, Trump stated that both sides had agreed to hold a meeting in Budapest soon.

Russian Presidential Aide Ushakov pointed out that Russia and the U.S. will immediately start preparing for the next round of summit meetings between leaders.

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