🔗 Share this article

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

Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a meeting was not "needed".

The White House declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.

Earlier Events

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting the president had urged him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on this week the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.

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

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

Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, implying that pausing conflict would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "significant input" in international relations", he remarked.