🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated.

Recently Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".

The administration declined to provide any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources indicating the president had urged him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on Monday the American president supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is where it stands," he stated.

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

Moscow was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he commented.