Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Delayed Shortly After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced
There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.
This past week the US president said he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the Ukraine conflict.
A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.
Earlier Events
The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Certain accounts claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources indicating Trump had urged him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.
Yet, on Monday the American president endorsed a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Freeze the lines in its current state," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the present battle positions.
Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.
Zelensky stated conversations concerning the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.
He further commented the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Strategic Factors
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he added.