Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in August in Alaska and the US president had said further discussions would occur in Budapest

There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.

This past week the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to examine the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".

The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Previous Developments

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders claiming Trump had pushed him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.

However, on Monday Trump embraced a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the war on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is in its current state," he said.

Russia has consistently objected against pausing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, implying that halting hostilities would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of extensive requirements that include the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of rumors that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.

Jason Myers
Jason Myers

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