Arrangements for Trump-Putin Meeting Delayed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.
Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting the president had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the present positions.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the present battle positions.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "fundamental issues" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president commented discussions about the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently preceded rumors that the US was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he added.