Plans for Trump-Putin Summit Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.
This past week the US president said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The White House declined to provide further information on why the talks had been delayed.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming the president had pushed him to relinquish large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week the American president embraced a truce plan backed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the current front line.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.
Russia has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He also said the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday occurred before rumors that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.