Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Delayed Days After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has stated.
Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest soon to examine the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was not "required".
The administration withheld further information on why the talks had been postponed.
Previous Developments
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources indicating the president had urged him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
However, on this week Trump embraced a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.
Moscow has consistently objected against pausing the existing front lines.
Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, indicating that pausing conflict would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently came ahead of rumors that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.