🔗 Share this article Preparations for Trump-Putin Summit Delayed Days Following Budapest Negotiations Proposed Putin and Trump previously convened in late summer in the northern US state and the US president had said further talks would occur in the Hungarian capital There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced. Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict. A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed". The administration withheld further information on why the talks had been delayed. Background Context The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office. Various sources indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating Trump had urged him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow. Nevertheless, on Monday the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the conflict on the present positions. "Let it be cut where it stands," he said. Russia has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the existing front lines. The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire. Political Perspectives The "root causes" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that encompass the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its Western allies. Zelensky commented discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy. He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine. Weapons Discussions The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday occurred before reports that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia. Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in negotiations", he commented.