🔗 Share this article

There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.

Recently Trump stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest soon to address the ongoing hostilities.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The White House withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Previous Developments

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with sources suggesting the president had pushed him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the hostilities on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines in its current state," he remarked.

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

Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president commented discussions about the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently preceded rumors that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he added.