🔗 Share this article

There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.

This past week the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to address the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was not "required".

The administration withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed.

Earlier Events

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders suggesting Trump had pushed him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

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

Moscow has consistently objected against freezing the existing front lines.

The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the war required resolution, 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 military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

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

He further commented the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the United States was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.