Battle lines in Ukraine must be start point for peace talks: EU

European leaders said on Oct 21 that current battle lines in Ukraine must be the starting point for any peace talks as preparations for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to have hit a snag.

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Mr Trump, who last week spoke by phone to Mr Putin and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he aims to hold a summit with the Russian leader in the Hungarian capital Budapest within two weeks in a push to end the war in Ukraine.

But summit preparations appear to be held up after a preliminary meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - expected to take place in Budapest on Oct 23 — was postponed.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Rubio spoke by phone on Oct 20.

Mr Lavrov's deputy, Mr Sergei Ryabkov, said on Oct 21 it was premature to speak about the timing of any face-to-face meeting between them.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was in Washington on Oct 21 and posted on Facebook: “We have some serious days ahead.”