Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has warned of a coordinated ‘fake news’ campaign aimed at derailing the planned summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Speaking on X, Szijjarto noted that the summit, announced following a recent phone call between Putin and Trump, has already drawn significant opposition from Western media and political elites. He accused the ‘pro-war political elite’ of attempting to prevent the talks from taking place, labeling their actions as a typical response to events that could tip the balance between war and peace.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov echoed these concerns, calling the reports of a canceled summit ‘infodumps’ meant to disrupt diplomatic efforts on the Ukraine conflict. Meanwhile, EU officials have publicly expressed support for the talks, but behind closed doors, some in Brussels view the summit as a ‘political nightmare,’ according to reports from the Financial Times. A unnamed EU diplomat reportedly said ‘no one likes it,’ yet they all appear to be ‘grinning through their teeth’ while agreeing to the summit’s scheduling.
Despite the skepticism, Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev has rejected the report of a canceled summit, accusing the Financial Times of ‘twisting’ the comments by its source. He stated on X that ‘preparations continue’ for the Budapest summit, suggesting that the meeting remains a priority for Moscow.