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Currently exist "no plans" for American leader 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 meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" discussion 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 delayed.

Background Context

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating the president had pushed him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on this week Trump supported a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the war on the current front line.

"Leave it as is in its current state," he said.

Russia has frequently resisted against halting the existing front lines.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that pausing conflict would merely represent a short-term truce.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the war needed to be addressed, the Russian diplomat emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that encompass the recognition of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

Zelensky commented talks regarding the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the provision of distance-capable munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Military Considerations

Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump recently occurred before reports that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to enter into dialogue. The talk about the weapons systems had turned out to be a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.