Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Shelved Days Following Budapest Talks Announced

There are "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.

This past week the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".

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

Earlier Events

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources claiming the president had urged him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the present positions.

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

Moscow has frequently resisted against freezing the existing front lines.

The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would simply constitute a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the war needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky said discussions about the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.

He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday preceded rumors that the US was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

Zelensky said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.