Plans for Putin-Trump Summit Postponed Shortly Following Budapest Talks Announced
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.
Recently Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest soon to address the Ukraine conflict.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The White House withheld any more details on why the talks had been delayed.
Background Context
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
However, on Monday the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Moscow has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on this week, implying that freezing the front line would merely represent a brief pause.
Diplomatic Positions
The "root causes" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he remarked.