Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.
Recently Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The administration withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting Trump had urged him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the war on the present positions.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the present battle positions.
The Russian government was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would only amount to a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of extensive requirements that include the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently occurred before rumors that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.