Preparations for Trump-Putin Summit Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has stated.
Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "needed".
The White House declined to provide further information on why the talks had been delayed.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting the president had urged him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.
"Freeze the lines the way it is," he remarked.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently preceded rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he commented.