Arrangements for Putin-Trump Talks Postponed Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Suggested

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump previously convened in late summer in Alaska and the US president had said further talks would occur in Budapest

Currently exist "no plans" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced.

Recently the US president indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a meeting was not "required".

The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Earlier Events

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pressured him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.

However, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative backed by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the war on the current front line.

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

Russia has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.

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Haley Daniel

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