Plans for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no plans" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.
Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The White House withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.
Background Context
The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar indicating the president had pushed him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.
However, on Monday the American president supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut the way it is," he said.
Russia has frequently resisted against freezing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would simply constitute a brief pause.
Political Perspectives
The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.
He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Military Considerations
The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday preceded speculation that the United States was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he remarked.