Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.
This past week Trump said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a meeting was not "required".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Some reports suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting the president had pushed him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Yet, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the conflict on the current front line.
"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.
Moscow has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat said, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.
The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday preceded rumors that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he commented.