Plans for Putin-Trump Meeting Delayed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
There are "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.
This past week Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The administration did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Earlier Events
Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had pressured him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump embraced a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he stated.
Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.
Political Perspectives
The "fundamental issues" of the conflict needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of extensive requirements that include the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.