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

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital soon to address the Ukraine conflict.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was not "required".

The White House did not share further information on why the talks had been delayed.

Earlier Events

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

Yet, on Monday the American president supported a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.

Moscow has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov commented on Tuesday, implying that freezing the front line would merely represent a brief pause.

Political Perspectives

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its Western allies.

Zelensky stated talks regarding the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He additionally stated the sole subject that could make Moscow "take notice" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Strategic Factors

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.

Zelensky said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he commented.