Arrangements for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Days After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested

Trump and Putin
Trump and Putin last met in late summer in the northern US state and the US president had said additional discussions would occur in Budapest

Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has announced.

Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to address the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was not "needed".

The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting Trump had pressured him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on this week the American president embraced a truce plan supported by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the war on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he stated.

Russia has consistently objected against pausing the existing front lines.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a series of maximalist demands that involve the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky stated talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently came ahead of 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 said it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he remarked.

Terry Green
Terry Green

A seasoned casino strategist with over a decade of experience in gaming analysis and winning techniques.