Plans for Trump-Putin Talks Shelved Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed
Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.
Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to examine the ongoing hostilities.
A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".
The White House declined to provide further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.
Background Context
Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Various sources indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting the president had pressured him to relinquish extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on this week the American president embraced a peace initiative backed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the war on the present positions.
"Leave it as is where it stands," he remarked.
Russia has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.
Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, implying that pausing conflict would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.
Political Perspectives
The "underlying reasons" of the war demanded attention, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of extensive requirements that include the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Zelensky said discussions about the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.
He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.
Strategic Factors
Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently preceded rumors that the United States was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he remarked.