🔗 Share this article Plans for Putin-Trump Talks Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Talks Suggested Putin and Trump last met in late summer in Alaska and the American leader had said further talks would take place in the Hungarian capital Currently exist "no plans" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced. Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine. A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary". The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been postponed. Previous Developments Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House. Certain accounts indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating the president had pushed him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow. Yet, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the present positions. "Freeze the lines where it stands," he stated. Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the current line of contact. Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a temporary ceasefire. Negotiating Stances The "root causes" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of maximalist demands that encompass the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters. Zelensky stated talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy. He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military. Military Considerations Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia. Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he remarked.