🔗 Share this article

There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.

Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest within two weeks to examine the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The administration withheld further information on why the talks had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pressured him to cede extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

Nevertheless, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the present positions.

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

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

The Russian government was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky said talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently occurred before speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.