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There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has declared.

Last Thursday Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was not "required".

The administration did not share further information on why the talks had been postponed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources claiming Trump had pushed him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

Yet, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is where it stands," he said.

Russia has consistently objected against freezing the existing front lines.

Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday, suggesting that halting hostilities would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

Zelensky stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader recently occurred before rumors that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he remarked.