Plans for Trump-Putin Meeting Delayed Shortly Following Budapest Talks Announced
There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.
Last Thursday the US president stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was not "required".
The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with insiders claiming the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on Monday Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he stated.
Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the current line of contact.
Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of extensive requirements that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president stated discussions about the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday occurred before speculation that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he remarked.