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There are "no arrangements" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russia's Putin "in the near term", a White House official has declared.

This past week the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was not "necessary".

The White House did not share any more details on why the talks had been postponed.

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

Yet, on this week the American president supported a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines the way it is," he stated.

Russia has consistently objected against halting the current line of contact.

The Russian government was solely focused on "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would merely represent a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of extensive requirements that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of rumors that the United States was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in negotiations", he commented.