🔗 Share this article Arrangements for Trump-Putin Summit Shelved Shortly After Hungarian Capital Talks Announced Trump and Putin last met in late summer in the northern US state and the US president had said further discussions would occur in Budapest Currently exist "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has stated. Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict. A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a meeting was not "needed". The White House did not share further information on the reason the negotiations had been delayed. Background Context Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Certain accounts claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources indicating Trump had pressured him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia. Yet, on Monday Trump supported a truce plan backed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the war on the current front line. "Freeze the lines in its current state," he remarked. Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the current line of contact. The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on this week, implying that pausing conflict would only amount to a brief pause. Diplomatic Positions The "fundamental issues" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that include the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners. Zelensky said talks regarding the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations. He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine. Weapons Discussions Putin's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia. Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he added.