Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested

There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.

This past week Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital soon to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was not "needed".

The White House did not share additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders suggesting the president had pushed him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Nevertheless, on Monday Trump endorsed a truce plan supported by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.

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

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

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented discussions about the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

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

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently preceded rumors that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he commented.