Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Postponed Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.
Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to address the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".
The White House did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had pressured him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.
Yet, on Monday the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines the way it is," he said.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the present battle positions.
Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would simply constitute a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.
Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday came ahead of reports that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he added.