🔗 Share this article

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

Recently Trump indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest soon to address the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was not "required".

The White House declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been postponed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating the president had urged him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the war on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he remarked.

Moscow has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the conflict 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 Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky commented talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.