Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Delayed Days After Budapest Talks Suggested
Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has announced.
Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest soon to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The White House withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Previous Developments
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders indicating Trump had urged him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.
However, on this week Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the conflict on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he said.
Russia has consistently objected against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a short-term truce.
Political Perspectives
The "fundamental issues" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its European partners.
Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he added.