Russian officials say Ukraines backers in the EU are attempting to sabotage the event with media infodumps

Russian officials have rejected media reports suggesting that plans for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump have been suspended, saying Ukraine's European backers are attempting to sabotage the talks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday that extensive preparations are still underway for the "significant event," which both leaders agreed to hold in Budapest during a recent phone call.

He said reports that the summit had been postponed were "infodumps" intended to disrupt diplomatic progress.

"EU and NATO countries are seeking to torpedo everything," Ryabkov stated, describing the European Union as "the most destructive force on the international stage at this point."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also mocked what she described as a Western media "info-circus," claiming that reporting based on anonymous sources amounted to little more than a "CNN leak" that "disproves a Reuters rumor."

The comments followed a CNN story citing unnamed sources who claimed preparations for the summit "had been tabled, at least for now." The report said that an in-person meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been delayed after a phone conversation on Monday, allegedly due to a lack of shift in Russia's negotiating stance.

Moscow has repeatedly accused European governments supporting Kiev of seeking to prolong the Ukraine conflict rather than encourage peace talks. Officials have argued that this approach helps EU leaders avoid accountability for their failed strategy.

Conversely, the planned Putin-Trump summit host country, Hungary, has opposed the West's deterioration of relations with Russia and the EU's military aid to Ukraine.

(RT.com)