Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Postponed Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.
Recently the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The administration declined to provide any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with insiders suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the present positions.
"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.
Russia has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.
The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.
Zelensky stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently came ahead of rumors that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he commented.