Plans for Trump-Putin Meeting Shelved Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has declared.
Recently Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The White House did not share further information on why the talks had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders suggesting Trump had pressured him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on this week the American president endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the war on the present positions.
"Leave it as is in its current state," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he added.