🔗 Share this article Preparations for Putin-Trump Meeting Postponed Shortly Following Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested Trump and Putin previously convened in August in Alaska and the American leader had said further talks would occur in Budapest There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced. This past week the US president stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to examine the war in Ukraine. A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "required". The administration did not share further information on why the talks had been postponed. Background Context Trump had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office. Certain accounts suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow. However, on this week Trump endorsed a peace initiative endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the war on the current front line. "Leave it as is in its current state," he stated. Russia has consistently objected against freezing the existing front lines. The Russian government was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire. Political Perspectives The "root causes" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters. The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations. He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine. Military Considerations Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target Russian territory. The Ukrainian leader said it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he added.