🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has announced.

This past week Trump stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".

The White House did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.

However, on Monday the American president supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the conflict on the existing battle lines.

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

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a series of extensive requirements that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented discussions about the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday preceded speculation that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he added.