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There are "no plans" for American leader President Trump to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced.

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" call and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources claiming Trump had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the conflict on the existing battle lines.

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

Moscow has consistently objected against freezing the present battle positions.

The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, indicating that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Moscow's terminology for a set of extensive requirements that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he commented.