Plans for Trump-Putin Meeting Delayed Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Suggested
Currently exist "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has stated.
This past week Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest soon to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "required".
The White House withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Background Context
Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting the president had pressured him to cede extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.
However, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative backed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.
"Freeze the lines the way it is," he said.
Russia has consistently objected against freezing the present battle positions.
The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, implying that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "fundamental issues" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Zelensky said talks regarding the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Military Considerations
Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday preceded reports that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.