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There are "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russian President Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.

Last Thursday the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would conduct negotiations in Budapest within two weeks to examine the ongoing hostilities.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "required".

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

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts suggested his meeting with Zelensky had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting Trump had pressured him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

Nevertheless, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the war on the existing battle lines.

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

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

The Russian government was solely focused on "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, indicating that halting hostilities would merely represent a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Ukraine and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president stated discussions about the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Moscow was "doing everything" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unscheduled call with Trump recently preceded reports that the United States was preparing to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit inside Russia.

Zelensky stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had forced Russia to engage in discussion. The discussion regarding the weapons systems had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he remarked.