On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he had postponed preparations for a summit in Budapest with Russia’s Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine conflict, as he deemed the meeting would be “wasted.”
Trump’s retraction occurred within days after he declared his intention to meet Putin in the Hungarian capital within a fortnight, after what he described as a constructive phone conversation aimed at concluding Russia’s war.
A senior Ukrainian official informed AFP that the US leader urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to relinquish the eastern Donbas territory in return for peace during “tense” discussions last Friday in Washington.
On Tuesday, a White House official stated that there are currently “no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future,” notwithstanding the Budapest announcement.
“I wish to avoid a futile meeting,” Trump informed reporters in the Oval Office when questioned about the postponement of the visit with Putin. “I wish to avoid a futile endeavour so that I will observe the outcome.”
In response to an inquiry from an AFP journalist regarding what influenced his decision, Trump stated: “Numerous developments are occurring on the war front.” We will inform you within the next two days regarding our actions.
The White House announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled a planned meeting to organise the Budapest summit during a telephone conversation on Monday.
‘Engaging in circular reasoning’
Trump has relied on personal rapport with Putin to achieve a peace agreement over Ukraine; however, he has repeatedly encountered frustration with the Russian leader.
Ukraine and its European allies have been compelled to adapt to the unpredictable US president hastily.
A senior Ukrainian source informed AFP that Zelensky’s discussions with Trump at the White House last week were “challenging,” noting that diplomatic endeavours to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict appeared to be “prolonged” and “circular.”
Last week, Trump urged both Moscow and Kyiv to cease hostilities at their existing frontlines, without officially suggesting that Ukraine should relinquish any land.
When enquired whether Trump encouraged Zelensky to relinquish territory still under Ukrainian control, a significant demand from Putin, the Ukrainian official affirmed, “Yes, that’s true.”
Zelensky departed the meeting without any concessions when Trump, having conversed with Putin the previous day, rejected his appeal for long-range Tomahawk missiles and urged him to negotiate a settlement.
Ukraine regards the Donbas, an industrial region encompassing its eastern Lugansk and Donetsk areas, as an integral part of its territory and has repeatedly dismissed the notion of relinquishing it.
‘Line of engagement’
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that there is no “precise” date for a subsequent meeting between Trump and Putin, who engaged in discussions in Alaska in August but did not achieve a breakthrough about Ukraine.
European leaders have dismissed the notion of Ukraine relinquishing territory, instead endorsing the suggestion to halt hostilities along the existing front lines.
In a joint statement released on Tuesday, leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and Britain’s Keir Starmer cautioned that Russia was not “committed to peace.”
The statement asserted, “We unequivocally endorse President Trump’s stance that hostilities must cease forthwith, and that the existing line of contact should serve as the basis for negotiations.”
NATO chief Mark Rutte was on his way to Washington on Tuesday for a meeting with Trump, according to a statement from the military alliance.
European Union leaders will unify in support of Ukraine during a summit in Brussels on Thursday, followed by a “coalition of the willing” meeting of European leaders in London the next day to deliberate on subsequent measures to assist Kyiv.
In February 2022, Putin commanded a comprehensive invasion of Ukraine, characterising it as a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarising the nation and obstructing NATO’s progress.
Russia currently holds around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, much of which has been devastated by conflict, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and military personnel.
