Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Shortly Following Budapest Talks Suggested
There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.
Recently Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was not "necessary".
The administration withheld any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.
Some reports claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with insiders claiming Trump had pushed him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.
Yet, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines the way it is," he remarked.
Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would merely represent a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
Zelensky stated talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump recently preceded speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he commented.