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There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Putin "in the near term", a White House official has stated.

Recently the US president indicated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest in the coming fortnight to examine the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

The administration declined to provide additional specifics on why the talks had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

Trump had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting over the phone with Putin, a just prior to hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting the president had urged him to give up large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

Yet, on this week Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the war on the present positions.

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

Russia has consistently objected against halting the present battle positions.

Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat said, using Moscow's terminology for a set of maximalist demands that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its EU supporters.

Zelensky commented discussions about the current lines were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He also said the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unscheduled call with Trump recently came ahead of rumors that the United States was considering delivering extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had proven to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.