Plans for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Days Following Budapest Negotiations Suggested

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in August in Alaska and the US president had stated additional talks would occur in Budapest

There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.

Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The administration did not share additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Earlier Events

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar claiming Trump had urged him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.

However, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the current front line.

"Leave it as is where it stands," he said.

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would merely represent a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of rumors that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.

Joshua Payne
Joshua Payne

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