Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Delayed Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
Currently exist "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.
This past week the US president stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to address the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "required".
The administration did not share further information on why the talks had been postponed.
Previous Developments
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting Trump had pressured him to cede extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.
Yet, on this week the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the conflict on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he stated.
Russia has consistently objected against freezing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, implying that freezing the front line would merely represent a brief pause.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of extensive requirements that encompass 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 European partners.
Zelensky stated discussions about the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the sole subject that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently came ahead of reports that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.