Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Delayed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.
Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the Ukraine conflict.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".
The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.
Earlier Events
Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar claiming Trump had pressured him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the conflict on the current front line.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.
Russia has consistently objected against freezing the present battle positions.
Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Negotiating Stances
The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country â a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.
Zelensky stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently preceded reports that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.