Plans for Trump-Putin Summit Shelved Days After Budapest Talks Suggested
There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.
Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" discussion 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 delayed.
Previous Developments
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar claiming the president had pressured him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump embraced a truce plan supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the war on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of maximalist demands that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump recently preceded rumors that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.