Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Days Following Budapest Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.
This past week the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".
The White House declined to provide any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders suggesting the president had pressured him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week Trump embraced a truce plan backed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on this week, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.