Arrangements for Putin-Trump Summit Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested
Currently exist "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.
This past week the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The White House did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar indicating Trump had pushed him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.
"Leave it as is where it stands," he remarked.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would merely represent a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump recently occurred before reports that the United States was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit Russian territory.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.