Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.
Recently Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was not "necessary".
The White House withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Background Context
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders indicating the president had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.
However, on Monday Trump embraced a truce plan supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the conflict on the current front line.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he remarked.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.
Zelensky said conversations concerning the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently occurred before speculation that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader stated it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.