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There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the near term", a White House official has announced.

Recently the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Budapest within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The White House withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders claiming the president had pressured him to give up large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.

However, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and European leaders to halt the war on the present positions.

"Freeze the lines where it stands," he remarked.

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against halting the existing front lines.

The Russian government was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of maximalist demands that involve the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky commented conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to evade negotiations.

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

Strategic Factors

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump last Thursday occurred before reports that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he remarked.