Preparations for Trump-Putin Meeting Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.
Last Thursday the US president said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "required".
The administration declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating Trump had pressured him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week the American president embraced a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the war on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against freezing the present battle positions.
Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would simply constitute a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky said discussions about the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.
He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday occurred before reports that the United States was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.