🔗 Share this article Preparations for Trump-Putin Meeting Postponed Shortly After Budapest Talks Proposed Trump and Putin last met in August in Alaska and the American leader had indicated additional discussions would take place in Budapest There are "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared. Recently Trump said he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities. A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration said the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "needed". The White House withheld additional specifics on why the talks had been delayed. Background Context The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House. Some reports claimed his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders claiming the president had pushed him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia. Nevertheless, on Monday Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the present positions. "Let it be cut the way it is," he stated. Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions. Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov said on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would only amount to a short-term truce. Political Perspectives The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies. Zelensky commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" 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 provision of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine. Weapons Discussions Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump recently occurred before reports that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike deep into Russia. Zelensky said it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he added.