🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.

This past week Trump said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest within two weeks to examine the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".

The White House withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting the president had urged him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Nevertheless, on this week Trump supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut in its current state," he stated.

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the current line of contact.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict needed to be addressed, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky commented discussions about the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump recently came ahead of reports that the US was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he added.