Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Delayed Days Following Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.
This past week the US president said he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "required".
The administration declined to provide further information on why the talks had been postponed.
Background Context
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting the president had urged him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday Trump supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the current front line.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he remarked.
Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "fundamental issues" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently occurred before speculation that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he remarked.