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There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has stated.

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Russian president would meet in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to address the war in Ukraine.

A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur recently - but the White House clarified the two had had a "positive" call and that a face-to-face session was no longer "needed".

The White House declined to provide any more details on why the talks had been put on hold.

Earlier Events

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting during a call with Putin, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with insiders suggesting the president had pressured him to relinquish significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on Monday Trump endorsed a peace initiative supported by Ukraine and European leaders to pause the conflict on the current front line.

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

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

Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister stated on this week, implying that halting hostilities would only amount to a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.

The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the battle positions were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the United States was preparing to send extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The talk about the missiles had turned out to be a "valuable contribution" in negotiations", he remarked.