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There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has stated.

This past week Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".

The White House did not share any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources indicating the president had pressured him to cede significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on Monday the American president endorsed a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the existing front lines.

The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of maximalist demands that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.