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There are "no arrangements" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "required".

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

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts indicated his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar indicating the president had pushed him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the war on the present positions.

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

Russia has frequently resisted against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the war required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.

Zelensky stated discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

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

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he commented.