Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Postponed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has declared.
Recently the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources indicating the president had urged him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president endorsed a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the conflict on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he said.
Moscow has consistently objected against pausing the current line of contact.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a series of extensive requirements that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.
He also said the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the United States was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target Russian territory.
Zelensky asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he remarked.