Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Shelved Days Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in late summer in the northern US state and the American leader had indicated additional discussions would take place in the Hungarian capital

There are "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced.

Recently the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was not "required".

The White House did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Earlier Events

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming the president had pushed him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

However, on Monday Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the conflict on the present positions.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.

Russia has frequently resisted against freezing the present battle positions.

Moscow was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.

Zelensky stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he added.

Brian Lowery
Brian Lowery

Digital strategist and UX designer with over a decade of experience in tech innovation and web development projects across Europe.