Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Days Following Budapest Negotiations Announced
There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.
This past week the US president stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The White House did not share further information on why the talks had been delayed.
Earlier Events
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming the president had urged him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the war on the present positions.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he remarked.
Moscow has consistently objected against pausing the current line of contact.
Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky commented discussions about the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday came ahead of rumors that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.