Plans for Putin-Trump Summit Delayed Days Following Budapest Negotiations Announced

Trump and Putin
Trump and Putin previously convened in August in the northern US state and the American leader had stated further discussions would take place in the Hungarian capital

There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.

Recently Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The administration declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been postponed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar indicating Trump had pushed him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines the way it is," he stated.

Moscow has consistently objected against pausing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday preceded reports that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.

Sarah Guzman
Sarah Guzman

A data scientist and betting strategist with over a decade of experience in sports analytics and predictive modeling.