🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.

Last Thursday Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest soon to examine the Ukraine conflict.

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 stated the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The administration declined to provide any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting the president had urged him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

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

"Leave it as is where it stands," he stated.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.

The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target Russian territory.

Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he commented.