Kremlin insists Putin-Trump meeting is welcomed but claims that "disinformation" is getting in the way

The Kremlin and Russian Foreign Ministry have claimed that Moscow is continuing preparations for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States, while complaining about widespread "rumours and disinformation" surrounding the issue.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed that preparations for the meeting are ongoing, according to Russian agency Interfax.

"We believe the focus should be on the substantive side, which is what we are doing in line with the instructions that we have received," Ryabkov explained.

He added that "questions of timing, format and sequencing are largely secondary to the substance".

The deputy minister said there are attempts "to portray the situation as having changed compared to a week or two ago", which he described as a deliberate effort by "those opposed to reaching agreements to reduce the likelihood of achieving them".

"We say that preparations for the summit are continuing. They may take various forms," Ryabkov added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Gazeta.ru, said the topic of the summit is surrounded by "a large number of rumours and disinformation, most of which do not correspond to reality".

"There are no updates yet," he emphasised, adding that there is "nothing new to say" regarding possible complications in the preparations.

According to Peskov, no date has been set for the potential meeting between Putin and Trump, and its preparation requires careful coordination.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán earlier said preparations for a "peace summit" in his country are ongoing.

Western news agencies have reported unofficially that after a conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the Russian side handed the US an informal document repeating its previous maximalist demands for ending the war against Ukraine.

Russia's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine has cast doubt on the planned Budapest meeting between Trump and Putin.

An unnamed White House official told reporters that the US no longer sees the need for a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which had been planned as part of preparations for the leader-level summit.