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There are "no plans" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration said the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The White House did not share any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources indicating the president had pushed him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.

However, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut the way it is," he said.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the present battle positions.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would merely represent a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky said discussions about the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.