Plans for Trump-Putin Talks Postponed Days After Budapest Negotiations Announced

Trump and Putin
Trump and Putin last met in August in Alaska and the US president had stated additional talks would take place in the Hungarian capital

There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.

Recently Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The administration withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been postponed.

Earlier Events

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar claiming Trump had pressured him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.

However, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

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

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president said discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.

He also said the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.

Anthony Green
Anthony Green

A passionate gamer and tech writer with over a decade of experience covering video games and emerging trends in interactive entertainment.