Plans for Trump-Putin Summit Delayed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.
Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital soon to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The White House did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources suggesting Trump had pressured him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative backed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.
Moscow has frequently resisted against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, indicating that pausing conflict would merely represent a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that involve the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he remarked.