Plans for Trump-Putin Meeting Postponed Days Following Budapest Talks Proposed
There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has announced.
Recently the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the Ukraine conflict.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a meeting was not "needed".
The administration declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.
Background Context
The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting the president had pressured him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.
However, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov said on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would merely represent a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president stated discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in international relations", he added.