Plans for Putin-Trump Talks Delayed Shortly Following Budapest Talks Proposed
There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has declared.
Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The administration declined to provide any more details on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming Trump had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on this week the American president supported a truce plan supported by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the war on the current front line.
"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.
Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament 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 "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently preceded rumors that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.