Arrangements for Putin-Trump Summit Delayed Days After Budapest Talks Proposed
There are "no plans" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.
Recently Trump stated he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the Ukraine conflict.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".
The administration declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been postponed.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar claiming Trump had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.
However, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the present positions.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the existing front lines.
Moscow was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov said on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
Zelensky commented discussions about the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently occurred before reports that the United States was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.