Preparations for Trump-Putin Meeting Delayed Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Proposed

Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.

Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".

The White House did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating the president had pressured him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

However, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the conflict on the present positions.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.

Russia has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, suggesting that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump recently occurred before speculation that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.