Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.
Recently Trump said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest soon to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Previous Developments
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating Trump had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday the American president endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the current line of contact.
Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.
Political Perspectives
The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.
Zelensky stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of reports that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.