Preparations for Trump-Putin Talks Postponed Days Following Budapest Talks Proposed
Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.
Recently the US president stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The administration withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had pressured him to relinquish large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.
However, on this week the American president supported a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the conflict on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he remarked.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.
Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.
Political Perspectives
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday came ahead of reports that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
Zelensky said it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he remarked.