Plans for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Days After Budapest Negotiations Proposed
There are "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.
Recently Trump said he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest soon to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".
The administration did not share any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar claiming the president had pressured him to relinquish extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is where it stands," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would merely represent a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of extensive requirements that include the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.
Zelensky commented talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.