Mark Rutte has served as NATO secretary general since Oct. 1, 2024.

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Trump said he was postponing the Putin meeting to avoid a "wasted meeting" and because "it didn't feel right to me." He announced the Budapest summit on October 16 after hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. By October 21, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on October 20, Trump reversed course. The State Department called the Rubio-Lavrov call "productive" but said an in-person meeting between the two was "not necessary." European leaders had opposed the summit, accusing Putin of stalling for time with diplomacy while advancing battlefield objectives. The rapid shift from announcement to cancellation within five days is how Trump balanced domestic political pressure during the 22-day government shutdown with his desire to negotiate directly with Putin on Ukraine.

Mark Rutte has served as NATO secretary general since Oct. 1, 2024.

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