Plans for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Proposed

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump previously convened in August in Alaska and the US president had said additional discussions would take place in Budapest

There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.

Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest soon to address the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The White House did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been postponed.

Previous Developments

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources indicating the president had urged him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.

However, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is where it stands," he remarked.

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the present battle positions.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of maximalist demands that include the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky stated discussions about the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently preceded reports that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he added.

Christy Stewart
Christy Stewart

Mikael is a certified fitness trainer and equipment specialist with over a decade of experience in the industry.