Arrangements for Putin-Trump Summit Delayed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.
Recently the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".
The White House did not share further information on why the talks had been delayed.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources claiming Trump had pressured him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.
Yet, on Monday the American president endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the conflict on the present positions.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the existing front lines.
Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, suggesting that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.
Political Perspectives
The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of maximalist demands that involve the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.
Zelensky stated discussions about the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he remarked.