Preparations for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in late summer in Alaska and the American leader had said further discussions would take place in Budapest

Currently exist "no plans" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has announced.

This past week the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to address the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The administration declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming the president had pressured him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.

However, on Monday Trump supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Freeze the lines where it stands," he said.

Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of extensive requirements that involve the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike Russian territory.

Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.

Dean Wilson
Dean Wilson

A film critic and historian with over a decade of experience, specializing in independent cinema and international films.