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Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President President Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.

Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Russian president would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to examine the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House said the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The White House did not share further information on why the talks had been delayed.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with insiders indicating Trump had pressured him to cede extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday the American president supported a truce plan supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the war on the current front line.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he remarked.

Moscow has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.

Zelensky said conversations concerning the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He also said the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.