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There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.

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 planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".

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

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting Trump had pushed him to cede extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday Trump supported a peace initiative backed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the current front line.

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

Moscow has consistently objected against freezing the present battle positions.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would merely represent a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president commented conversations concerning the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of speculation that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.