🔗 Share this article Preparations for Putin-Trump Talks Postponed Days After Budapest Talks Suggested Putin and Trump last met in late summer in the northern US state and the American leader had stated additional discussions would occur in Budapest There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared. Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations 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 due to be held recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed". The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold. Previous Developments Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. Various sources suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating the president had pressured him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Moscow. Nevertheless, on this week Trump supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the current front line. "Freeze the lines the way it is," he stated. Moscow has consistently objected against pausing the current line of contact. Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire. Diplomatic Positions The "fundamental issues" of the war demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters. The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations. He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military. Strategic Factors The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently occurred before speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia. The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he commented.