🔗 Share this article Preparations for Trump-Putin Talks Shelved Days Following Hungarian Capital Talks Proposed Trump and Putin last met in August 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 meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated. This past week the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities. A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary". The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been postponed. Previous Developments Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House. Some reports suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar indicating the president had urged him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow. Yet, on Monday the American president embraced a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions. "Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked. Russia has consistently objected against freezing the existing front lines. Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, suggesting that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause. Political Perspectives The "root causes" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its Western allies. The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy. He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the provision 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 long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory. Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the missiles had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he remarked.