Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Postponed Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.
Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The administration withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar claiming Trump had urged him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on this week Trump supported a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he stated.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday came ahead of reports that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he remarked.