Plans for Trump-Putin Talks Shelved Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in late summer in Alaska and the American leader had said further discussions would occur in Budapest

There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.

Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was no longer "required".

The White House did not share any more details on why the talks had been postponed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

However, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he remarked.

Russia has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.

The Russian government was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a set of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.

Steven Tate
Steven Tate

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