Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Shelved Days Following Budapest Talks Proposed

Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.

Recently the US president indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".

The White House withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders claiming Trump had urged him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

Nevertheless, on this week the American president embraced a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines in its current state," he stated.

Russia has consistently objected against pausing the existing front lines.

Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov stated on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president said discussions about the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday occurred before rumors that the United States was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he commented.