Arrangements for Putin-Trump Meeting Shelved Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced

Trump and Putin
Putin and Trump last met in August in Alaska and the US president had stated additional talks would occur in Budapest

Currently exist "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.

Recently the US president indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was not "needed".

The administration did not share any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar claiming Trump had pressured him to cede large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.

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

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of extensive requirements that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" 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 planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he added.

Steven Ortiz
Steven Ortiz

Elara is an avid adventurer and travel writer, sharing personal tales and practical advice from years of exploring remote wilderness and cultures.