Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Days Following Budapest Talks Announced
Currently exist "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.
Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to address the Ukraine conflict.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The White House declined to provide further information on why the talks had been postponed.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources suggesting Trump had pushed him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president embraced a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the conflict on the current front line.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.
Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that encompass the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president stated discussions about the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.
Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he added.