Arrangements for Putin-Trump Talks Delayed Days Following Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed

Trump and Putin
Trump and Putin last met in August in Alaska and the US president had indicated additional discussions would occur in Budapest

There are "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has declared.

Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest soon to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

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

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources indicating Trump had pressured him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday the American president supported a truce plan supported by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Freeze the lines in its current state," he said.

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.

The Russian government was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.

Zelensky said talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump recently came ahead of speculation that the US was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the missiles had emerged as a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he added.

Charles Shields
Charles Shields

A software engineer and retro computing enthusiast with over 15 years of experience restoring vintage computers and documenting tech history.