Preparations for Trump-Putin Meeting Postponed Shortly After Budapest Talks Proposed

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in late summer in the northern US state and the US president had said further discussions would occur in Budapest

There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.

This past week the US president stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between America's top diplomat 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 "productive" conversation and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The White House declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with insiders claiming the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.

However, on Monday Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines where it stands," he said.

Russia has frequently resisted against freezing the present battle positions.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky said talks regarding the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently came ahead of speculation that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he remarked.

Matthew Garcia
Matthew Garcia

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