Despite U.S. President Donald Trump announcing last month the cancellation of a planned summit with his Russian counterpart in Budapest, the Kremlin reiterated that communication with Washington continues to arrange the meeting.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that “communications regarding a meeting between Putin and Trump are ongoing despite the postponement,

Peskov also explained that Russia is in intensive contact with Washington to reach a settlement in Ukraine. He further noted that Moscow “considers the Alaska understandings a beneficial path toward resolving the Ukrainian crisis.”

Last week, Peskov stated that Russia “believes the Budapest summit will be necessary at a certain stage,” adding that “such a summit must be preceded by intensive efforts and hard work.”

It’s worth noting that on October 16, President Trump announced—following a phone call with his Russian counterpart—that they had agreed to meet soon in Budapest, though no date was set.

Later, on October 23, Trump said the meeting with Putin was postponed indefinitely, explaining that he “felt the upcoming talks would not achieve the desired outcome.”

Subsequently, he imposed new sanctions on Russia’s two largest gas and oil companies.

Meanwhile, the Russian side confirmed that the Budapest summit was postponed, not canceled, clarifying that the United States had initiated the talks.

This back-and-forth reflects rising tensions between the two sides and growing frustration from Trump over the Kremlin’s delays in ending the war in Ukraine—a conflict the U.S. president has repeatedly claimed he could resolve swiftly.