Arrangements for Putin-Trump Talks Delayed Days Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested
There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.
This past week Trump stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to examine the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "required".
The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.
Previous Developments
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had urged him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov said on Tuesday, indicating that pausing conflict would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Zelensky said discussions about the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday preceded rumors that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in negotiations", he added.