🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.

Recently the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "required".

The White House withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been postponed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders claiming the president had pressured him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on Monday Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the conflict on the present positions.

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

Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky said talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday came ahead of rumors that the US was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.