Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Shelved Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has declared.
Recently the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to address the war in Ukraine.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House withheld any more details on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Some reports suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources indicating Trump had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.
Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the present positions.
"Freeze the lines the way it is," he said.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.
The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said discussions about the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday preceded rumors that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike 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 turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he commented.