Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.
This past week the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "required".
The White House declined to provide further information on why the talks had been put on hold.
Previous Developments
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar claiming Trump had pressured him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on Monday Trump embraced a truce plan supported by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he remarked.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.
The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.
Diplomatic Positions
The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of maximalist demands that encompass the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.
Zelensky stated discussions about the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He also said the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently preceded speculation that the US was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he added.