🔗 Share this article

There are "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.

Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest soon to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The administration did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting the president had urged him to give up significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.

Nevertheless, on Monday the American president endorsed a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the existing battle lines.

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

Russia has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

Zelensky stated discussions about the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.