Plans for Trump-Putin Meeting Postponed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.
Last Thursday the US president stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "needed".
The administration did not share additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Background Context
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar indicating Trump had urged him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.
Yet, on this week Trump embraced a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the war on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the existing front lines.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.