Arrangements for Putin-Trump Summit Postponed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.
Recently the US president stated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".
The White House did not share further information on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar claiming the president had pushed him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on this week Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.
Moscow has consistently objected against halting the existing front lines.
The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump recently preceded rumors that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.