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

This past week the US president indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to discuss the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The administration did not share additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Previous Developments

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pressured him to cede extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on Monday Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the current front line.

"Leave it as is in its current state," he said.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the existing front lines.

Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on this week, implying that freezing the front line would merely represent a short-term truce.

Political Perspectives

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov stated, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president commented talks regarding the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday preceded reports that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could possibly hit deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.