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

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest soon to address the Ukraine conflict.

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

The administration withheld further information on why the talks had been delayed.

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with Putin, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources claimed his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pushed him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday Trump endorsed a truce plan supported by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

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

Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

The Russian government was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, implying that pausing conflict would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky said conversations concerning the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently preceded speculation that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he added.