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

Last Thursday the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict.

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

The White House withheld further information on why the talks had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources claiming Trump had urged him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Kyiv and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the current front line.

"Freeze the lines in its current state," he remarked.

Moscow has frequently resisted against freezing the present battle positions.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov stated on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would simply constitute a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of maximalist demands that involve the recognition of total Russian authority over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky commented discussions about the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently occurred before rumors that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he added.