🔗 Share this article

There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has declared.

This past week Trump indicated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "required".

The White House declined to provide further information on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Earlier Events

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pushed him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

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

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the current line of contact.

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

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of rumors that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.