Plans for President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest to discuss ways to resolve the war in Ukraine have been placed on hold, a U.S. official said Tuesday, reflecting a diplomatic recalibration after a series of high-profile contacts last week. The development comes as European leaders and Kyiv weigh the prospects of a diplomatic path that could freeze or redefine front lines in a conflict that has persisted for more than three years.

The postponement followed a phone call between Trump and Putin and a subsequent meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. After those exchanges, Trump urged both Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” — a formulation that departs from long-standing Western support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and complicates the calculus of allied policymakers who have sought to maintain pressure on Moscow.

Eight European leaders, however, pledged to continue using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, signaling a determination to sustain Kyiv’s defenses even as Washington’s tone shifts. A statement accompanying that pledge expressed backing for the idea of an immediate halt to fighting, noting: “We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the statement said.

The discord between an American president signaling readiness for ceasefire negotiations and European capitals insisting on continued financial support for Ukraine highlights a fraught diplomatic moment. For Kyiv, which has fought to reclaim territory and to negotiate from a position of strength, a call to freeze lines risks consolidating gains made by force and potentially ceding disputed areas. For allies, the question now is whether to double down on financial and material support while pressing for a settlement that upholds international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Legal and practical questions swirl around the use of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. European leaders have framed such measures as both a punitive tool against Moscow and a pragmatic source of war relief for Kyiv. But deploying those assets raises complex issues of property rights, extraterritorial enforcement and precedent that could affect future conflicts and economic sanctions regimes.

The postponement of a bilateral meeting in Budapest also carries symbolic weight. A direct summit between the leaders of the United States and Russia would have been closely watched for signs of a breakthrough or an agreed framework for ending hostilities. With the conversation deferred, capitals across Europe and beyond will scrutinize whether Washington intends to press for an immediate ceasefire as a pathway to negotiations or is signaling deeper strategic realignment that could unsettle NATO’s unified front.

For now, European leaders are sending a message of continuity in support for Ukraine even as diplomatic signals from Washington fluctuate. The coming days are likely to reveal whether the pause in summit planning is a temporary procedural step or the beginning of a more consequential shift in how the principal powers seek to manage — or resolve — the war in Ukraine.