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There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.

This past week Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The administration withheld further information on why the talks had been put on hold.

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting Trump had pushed him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Moscow.

Yet, on this week the American president endorsed a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the war on the present positions.

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

Moscow has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities required resolution, Lavrov said, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of extensive requirements that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky said conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike Russian territory.

Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he remarked.