Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Days Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.
Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to address the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House withheld any more details on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating the president had urged him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the war on the current front line.
"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the existing front lines.
The Russian government was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently preceded reports that the US was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he remarked.