🔗 Share this article

There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has declared.

This past week Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".

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

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources claiming Trump had pushed him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the current front line.

"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, indicating that pausing conflict would merely represent a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday preceded reports that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he commented.