Plans for Putin-Trump Talks Delayed Days After Budapest Negotiations Suggested

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in August in the northern US state and the American leader had said additional talks would occur in Budapest

There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced.

This past week Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "required".

The administration did not share further information on why the talks had been delayed.

Previous Developments

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting the president had urged him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.

Yet, on Monday Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the conflict on the current front line.

"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the current line of contact.

The Russian government was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.

Jacob Stephens
Jacob Stephens

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