Plans for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Days Following Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested
There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.
This past week the US president said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with insiders suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.
Nevertheless, on this week Trump supported a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he remarked.
Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.
Political Perspectives
The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of extensive requirements that involve the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Zelensky said discussions about the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently occurred before reports that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.