Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Shelved Days After Budapest Talks Proposed

Trump and Putin
Trump and Putin previously convened in August in the northern US state and the US president had indicated further talks would take place in the Hungarian capital

There are "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.

Recently Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The administration did not share further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders claiming Trump had urged him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut in its current state," he remarked.

Moscow has consistently objected against halting the existing front lines.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, indicating that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of extensive requirements that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.

Zelensky said conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently occurred before rumors that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he added.

Margaret Andersen MD
Margaret Andersen MD

A seasoned casino gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and player psychology.