🔗 Share this article

There are "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.

Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest soon to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".

The administration declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources suggesting the president had urged him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on this week the American president endorsed a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut the way it is," he stated.

Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the current line of contact.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on Tuesday, suggesting that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky commented talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he commented.