Preparations for Putin-Trump meeting in Hungary put on hold - press

WASHINGTON. Oct 21 (Interfax) - Preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump have been paused, NBC News reporter Garrett Haake said, citing an unnamed White House representative on Tuesday.

"Planning towards that Trump-Putin summit in Budapest is 'on hold' at the moment, a senior White House official tells me," Haake said on a social network.

Although Monday's telephone call of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was productive, Trump believes that it is premature for the parties to hold a summit, he said.

CNN said earlier with a reference to sources that the Lavrov-Rubio meeting expected this week was postponed. According to a source, Rubio and Lavrov have "divergent expectations about a possible end" of the conflict in Ukraine.