Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
There are "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has stated.
Recently Trump stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "required".
The administration declined to provide further information on why the talks had been put on hold.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had pushed him to cede extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.
However, on this week Trump embraced a truce plan supported by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.
Russia has frequently resisted against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.
Zelensky commented talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.
He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday occurred before speculation that the United States was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he added.