Plans for Putin-Trump Talks Shelved Shortly After Budapest Negotiations Suggested

There are "no preparations" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has declared.

Recently Trump stated he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to examine the war in Ukraine.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for recently - but the White House stated the two had had a "productive" discussion and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The administration withheld additional specifics on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Previous Developments

Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Certain accounts claimed his meeting with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with sources indicating the president had pressured him to cede large areas of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on Monday Trump endorsed a truce plan backed by Ukraine and EU officials to halt the hostilities on the existing battle lines.

"Leave it as is the way it is," he said.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the present battle positions.

Moscow was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov said on Tuesday, indicating that freezing the front line would simply constitute a brief pause.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the conflict needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of extensive requirements that involve the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the demilitarisation of the country – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky stated conversations concerning the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He additionally stated the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

The Russian president's unplanned conversation with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the US was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader stated it was the Tomahawks issue that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The talk about the missiles had emerged as a "significant input" in negotiations", he remarked.