Preparations for Trump-Putin Meeting Delayed Days Following Budapest Negotiations Suggested
Currently exist "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has stated.
This past week Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital soon to address the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The administration did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating the president had urged him to relinquish large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on this week Trump embraced a truce plan backed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the hostilities on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he remarked.
Russia has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a brief pause.
Political Perspectives
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He also said the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently came ahead of reports that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he added.