Preparations for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Days After Budapest Talks Suggested

Currently exist "no plans" for US President President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.

This past week the US president said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest soon to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The White House did not share further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting the president had pushed him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on Monday the American president embraced a truce plan supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.

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

Russia has consistently objected against freezing the existing front lines.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.

Political Perspectives

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky commented discussions about the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday preceded rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

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