Preparations for Trump-Putin Talks Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
Currently exist "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has declared.
Recently the US president said he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was not "required".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Earlier Events
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pushed him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on this week the American president endorsed a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Moscow has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on this week, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said discussions about the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Strategic Factors
Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump recently came ahead of rumors that the United States was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in diplomacy", he added.