🔗 Share this article

Currently exist "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.

Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

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

Earlier Events

Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pushed him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on Monday Trump endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the war on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated.

Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, indicating that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of maximalist demands that include the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter 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 delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently preceded reports that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.