Plans are on hold for U.S. President Donald Trump to sit down down with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to speak about resolving the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
The meeting had been announced last week. It was purported to happen in Budapest, although a date had not been set.
The choice was made following a call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call,” the official said in a press release to Global News.
“Subsequently, a further in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is just not mandatory, and there aren’t any plans for President Trump to satisfy with President Putin within the immediate future.”
The official wasn’t authorized to talk publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated Tuesday there was no sense of urgency for Trump and Putin to satisfy, saying that “preparation is required, serious preparation.”
The back-and-forth over Trump’s plans is the newest bout of whiplash brought on by his stutter-step efforts to resolve a conflict that has persevered for nearly 4 years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders accused Putin of stalling for time to proceed his invasion as diplomatic efforts took place. In addition they said they opposed any push to make Kyiv give up land captured by Russian forces in return for peace, as Trump has now and again suggested.
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Eight European leaders in addition to senior European Union officials said in a joint statement they intend to go ahead with plans to make use of Moscow’s billions of dollars (euros) of frozen assets abroad to assist Kyiv win the war, despite some misgivings in regards to the legality and consequences of such a step.
Zelenskyy noted that Putin returned to diplomacy and called Trump last week when facing the likelihood that the U.S. would supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
But “as soon because the pressure eased just a little, the Russians began to attempt to drop diplomacy, postpone the dialogue,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday in a Telegram post.
“We want to finish this war, and only pressure will result in peace,” he said.
The leaders’ statement laid down a marker by saying the leaders “remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be modified by force.”
Trump last month reversed his long-held position that Ukraine would need to concede land and suggested it could win back all of the territory it has lost to Russia. Nevertheless, after a phone call with Putin last week and a subsequent meeting with Zelenskyy on Friday, Trump shifted his position again and called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they’re” within the greater than three-year war.
On Sunday, Trump said that the economic Donbas region of eastern Ukraine must be “cut up,” leaving most of it in Russian hands.
Trump said Monday that while he thinks it is feasible that Ukraine can ultimately defeat Russia, he’s now doubtful it’ll occur.
Ukrainian and European leaders are attempting hard to maintain Trump on their side.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the present line of contact must be the place to begin of negotiations,” the statement said.
“We will all see that Putin continues to decide on violence and destruction.”
The dynamics of Trump’s engagement with Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II have zigzagged as he searches for a peace deal.
Russia occupies about one fifth of Ukraine, but carving up their country in return for peace is unacceptable to Kyiv officials.
Also, a conflict frozen on the present front line could fester, with occupied areas of Ukraine offering Moscow a springboard for brand new attacks in the longer term, Ukrainian and European officials fear.
The statement by the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Denmark and EU officials got here early in what Zelenskyy said Monday can be per week that’s “very energetic in diplomacy.”
More international economic sanctions on Russia are more likely to be discussed at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
“We must ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defense industry, until Putin is able to make peace,” Tuesday’s statement said.
On Friday, a gathering of the Coalition of the Willing — a bunch of 35 countries who support Ukraine — is as a result of happen in London.
Associated Press author Chris Megerian contributed. Additional files from Global News
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