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

Recently Trump stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

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

The White House withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with sources claiming Trump had urged him to give up extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the conflict on the present positions.

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

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the front line were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday occurred before rumors that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.