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Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to meet Russia's Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.

Recently the US president stated he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

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

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with insiders claiming Trump had pushed him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on this week Trump supported a truce plan backed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the present positions.

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

Russia has frequently resisted against freezing the existing front lines.

Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, suggesting that halting hostilities would simply constitute a brief pause.

Political Perspectives

The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of extensive requirements that involve the acceptance of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president stated conversations concerning the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in negotiations", he added.