Plans for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Proposed

There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.

Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The White House withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting the president had pressured him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.

"Freeze the lines the way it is," he stated.

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he added.