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There are "no preparations" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced.

This past week the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting the president had urged him to give up large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on Monday the American president supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Kyiv and EU officials to halt the conflict on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he remarked.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would simply constitute a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.

Zelensky said it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had emerged as a "strong investment" in international relations", he commented.