Arrangements for Trump-Putin Meeting Shelved Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Suggested
There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.
Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital soon to examine the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The administration withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Some reports claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pressured him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the hostilities on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he stated.
Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "root causes" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He also said the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently occurred before speculation that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.
Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.