Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Postponed Days Following Budapest Talks Proposed
There are "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.
Recently the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest soon to examine the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was not "required".
The administration did not share additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Previous Developments
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources claiming Trump had urged him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.
Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.
"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of extensive requirements that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently came ahead of speculation that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he commented.