Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Delayed Days After Budapest Talks Suggested
There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.
This past week the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The White House declined to provide further information on why the talks had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating the president had pressured him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.
However, on Monday Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the current front line.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the current line of contact.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on this week, implying that halting hostilities would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "root causes" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its European partners.
Zelensky stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader stated it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.