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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 Trump indicated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".

The administration withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Various sources suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting the president had pressured him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week the American president embraced a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the conflict on the current front line.

"Let it be cut the way it is," he remarked.

Russia has consistently objected against halting the current line of contact.

Moscow was exclusively seeking "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "underlying reasons" of the war needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of extensive requirements that encompass the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Kyiv and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the battle positions were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he commented.