Plans for Putin-Trump Summit Shelved Days After Budapest Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.
Recently Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest soon to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was not "needed".
The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources claiming Trump had pressured him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.
However, on this week Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the current front line.
"Freeze the lines the way it is," he said.
Russia has frequently resisted against halting the current line of contact.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would merely represent a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the conflict needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.
Zelensky stated discussions about the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.
He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently occurred before rumors that the United States was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.