🔗 Share this article

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

Last Thursday the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The administration withheld any more details on why the talks had been delayed.

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders claiming the president had pressured him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.

However, on Monday the American president supported a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the conflict on the current front line.

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

Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.

Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on this week, implying that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday occurred before speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.