Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Delayed Shortly After Budapest Talks Proposed
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.
This past week Trump said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was not "required".
The administration withheld any more details on why the talks had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders indicating the president had pushed him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.
However, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the present positions.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.
Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov said, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of extensive requirements that encompass the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday preceded rumors that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.