Preparations for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Days Following Budapest Negotiations Suggested
Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.
Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to examine the war in Ukraine.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The administration declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been delayed.
Previous Developments
The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
Various sources suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar claiming the president had urged him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on Monday the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the conflict on the current front line.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.
Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.
Diplomatic Positions
The "underlying reasons" of the war required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of extensive requirements that include the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.
Weapons Discussions
The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently occurred before speculation that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
Zelensky 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 "strong investment" in international relations", he added.