Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Delayed Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Proposed
There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.
Recently Trump stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to address the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had pushed him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.
Nevertheless, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the hostilities on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against pausing the current line of contact.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would simply constitute a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader stated it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he remarked.