🔗 Share this article

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

Recently the US president stated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest within two weeks to address the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The administration withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Earlier Events

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar indicating Trump had pressured him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week Trump supported a truce plan backed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the war on the current front line.

"Let it be cut the way it is," he said.

Moscow has frequently resisted against pausing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.

Political Perspectives

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president stated discussions about the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently occurred before speculation that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.