The Kremlin commented on reports about the reasons for the cancellation of the Putin–Trump meeting

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged the public to trust official statements rather than rely on newspaper interpretations regarding contacts between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

His comments were reported by RIA Novosti.

“I simply suggest that everyone recall the wording used in the [conversation] between Lavrov and Rubio and in the State Department’s official statements. Those contained entirely different wording and completely different assessments. Of course, it’s those official formulations that should be taken as reference — not newspaper reports,” Peskov said.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that a tense phone conversation between the two foreign ministers in mid-October may have been the reason for the cancellation of a planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Budapest.

According to the paper’s sources, Washington was taken aback by Lavrov’s “intransigence” and “hardline” statements on Ukraine.