Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Days After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Proposed
Currently exist "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.
Recently Trump said he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The administration did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Earlier Events
The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating Trump had urged him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the war on the current front line.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he stated.
Moscow has consistently objected against halting the current line of contact.
Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a set of comprehensive conditions that include the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday occurred before speculation that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.