🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has announced.

This past week Trump said he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".

The administration withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been postponed.

Previous Developments

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders claiming Trump had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.

However, on this week Trump embraced a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the war on the present positions.

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

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the current line of contact.

Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump recently preceded reports that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he added.