Arrangements for Trump-Putin Meeting Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.
Recently the US president indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest within two weeks to address the Ukraine conflict.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "needed".
The administration did not share additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Earlier Events
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting the president had pressured him to give up large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the present positions.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the current line of contact.
The Russian government was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov stated on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that involve the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky commented discussions about the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump recently came ahead of reports that the United States was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.