Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.
Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "required".
The White House withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.
Earlier Events
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar indicating the president had pressured him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.
Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a peace initiative backed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the current line of contact.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, implying that freezing the front line would simply constitute a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.
Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he remarked.