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There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "anytime soon", a White House official has announced.

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

A planning session between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".

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

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with insiders claiming the president had urged him to relinquish large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a truce plan supported by Kyiv and EU officials to pause the hostilities on the present positions.

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

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would only amount to a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the acknowledgment of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its European partners.

Zelensky said conversations concerning the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to prevent dialogue.

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

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday occurred before reports that the US was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces that could potentially strike Russian territory.

Zelensky asserted it was the weapons consideration that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the missiles had proven to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he added.