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Currently exist "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.

Last Thursday Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks to examine the war in Ukraine.

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".

The White House did not share any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar indicating Trump had urged him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Moscow.

However, on this week the American president endorsed a truce plan supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.

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

Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the war required resolution, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the only topic that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader recently preceded speculation that the US was considering delivering distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in diplomacy", he remarked.