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

Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest soon to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The White House withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Earlier Events

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar suggesting the president had pressured him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

However, on Monday Trump embraced a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is in its current state," he remarked.

Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the existing front lines.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that encompass the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He also said the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday came ahead of reports that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he commented.