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There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.

This past week the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The administration did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating Trump had pressured him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on Monday the American president endorsed a peace initiative backed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the war on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the current line of contact.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.

Political Perspectives

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president said talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of rumors that the US was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.

Zelensky asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.