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There are "no preparations" for American leader President Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.

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 America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".

The administration withheld any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting Trump had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a agreement with Russia.

However, on Monday Trump supported a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the war on the present positions.

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

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was exclusively seeking "permanent resolution", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that pausing conflict would only amount to a short-term truce.

Political Perspectives

The "underlying reasons" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a range of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.

Zelensky stated conversations concerning the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump recently preceded rumors that the US was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.