Arrangements for Putin-Trump Summit Postponed Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Suggested
Currently exist "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has stated.
This past week Trump stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest within two weeks to examine the Ukraine conflict.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting Trump had pushed him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.
Yet, on this week the American president endorsed a peace initiative endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the present positions.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would simply constitute a brief pause.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of extensive requirements that include the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of rumors that the US was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target Russian territory.
Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.