Plans for Trump-Putin Summit Shelved Days After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Announced

Trump and Putin
Trump and Putin previously convened in August in the northern US state and the US president had indicated additional talks would take place in the Hungarian capital

There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.

Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".

The administration declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Earlier Events

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on this week the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the conflict on the present positions.

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

Moscow has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump recently came ahead of reports that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he added.

Robert Armstrong
Robert Armstrong

A theoretical physicist and science writer with a passion for making complex concepts accessible to a broad audience.