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Currently exist "no plans" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.

Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "required".

The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been postponed.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting the president had pushed him to give up large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Russia.

However, on this week the American president supported a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Freeze the lines in its current state," he stated.

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.

The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky said talks regarding the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the United States was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.

Zelensky said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.