Arrangements for Trump-Putin Meeting Delayed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested

Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has declared.

This past week Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "constructive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been postponed.

Earlier Events

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources claiming the president had pressured him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.

However, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the conflict on the present positions.

"Leave it as is where it stands," he remarked.

Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently occurred before reports that the US was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he remarked.