Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Delayed Days Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested
There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.
Recently the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".
The administration declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar claiming the president had urged him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week Trump supported a truce plan supported by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the existing battle lines.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he remarked.
Moscow has frequently resisted against freezing the present battle positions.
Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov said on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.
Zelensky stated talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Strategic Factors
Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday occurred before reports that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.
Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he commented.