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There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has declared.

Last Thursday Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital soon to examine the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was not "required".

The White House declined to provide additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with sources suggesting the president had pushed him to relinquish significant territories of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.

However, on this week Trump embraced a truce plan endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.

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

Russia has consistently objected against halting the existing front lines.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Lavrov commented on this week, indicating that halting hostilities would simply constitute a brief pause.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the war required resolution, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a series of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president stated talks regarding the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He also said the only topic that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently occurred before reports that the US was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could possibly hit Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in international relations", he commented.