Plans for Trump-Putin Summit Postponed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.
This past week Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".
The administration withheld any more details on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting the president had urged him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.
However, on Monday the American president supported a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the conflict on the present positions.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he remarked.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the present battle positions.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the war required resolution, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
Zelensky commented conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he added.