Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Proposed
Currently exist "no plans" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has declared.
Recently Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest soon to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The administration did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.
Background Context
The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting Trump had pressured him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.
However, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.
Moscow has consistently objected against halting the current line of contact.
The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.
Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he remarked.