🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.

Recently the US president said he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".

The White House withheld further information on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting Trump had pressured him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he stated.

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

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently occurred before speculation that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.