Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Postponed Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.
Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.
Previous Developments
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders suggesting Trump had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president supported a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the current front line.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.
The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on this week, implying that pausing conflict would merely represent a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a series of extensive requirements that include the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.