Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Days Following Budapest Talks Announced
There are "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has stated.
Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest soon to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "required".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Earlier Events
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar claiming the president had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday Trump endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the present positions.
"Leave it as is where it stands," he remarked.
Moscow has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would simply constitute a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.
Zelensky said conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump recently came ahead of rumors that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he commented.