Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Delayed Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced

There are "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.

Recently Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital soon to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "required".

The administration declined to provide any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week Trump supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the present positions.

"Freeze the lines the way it is," he said.

Russia has consistently objected against pausing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky stated discussions about the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday preceded reports that the US was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he commented.