🔗 Share this article

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

This past week Trump indicated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital within two weeks to examine the Ukraine conflict.

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 administration said the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a face-to-face session was no longer "necessary".

The White House withheld any more details on why the talks had been delayed.

Previous Developments

Trump had raised the possibility of a Budapest summit during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Some reports indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with those familiar claiming Trump had urged him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on Monday the American president endorsed a truce plan backed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.

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

Russia has frequently resisted against pausing the current line of contact.

Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister said on this week, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the hostilities needed to be addressed, Lavrov said, using Moscow's terminology for a series of extensive requirements that encompass the acceptance of total Russian authority over the Donbas as well as the disarmament of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky said discussions about the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.

He also said the exclusive issue that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of reports that the US was preparing to send distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the weapons consideration that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he added.