Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Shortly Following Budapest Negotiations Suggested

Currently exist "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.

Last Thursday Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a meeting was not "required".

The administration declined to provide further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Previous Developments

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar indicating the president had urged him to give up large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.

Yet, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the current front line.

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

Moscow has consistently objected against pausing the existing front lines.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of maximalist demands that involve the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday preceded rumors that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.