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Currently exist "no plans" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the near term", a administration representative has stated.

Recently Trump stated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital within two weeks to address the ongoing hostilities.

A planning session between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was planned for this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "constructive" conversation and that a meeting was no longer "necessary".

The White House did not share further information on the reason the negotiations had been postponed.

Background Context

The US president had raised the possibility of a Hungarian meeting via telephone with the Russian leader, a just prior to hosting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with those familiar indicating Trump had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a deal with Russia.

Nevertheless, on this week Trump embraced a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to freeze the war on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut where it stands," he stated.

Moscow has repeatedly pushed back against pausing the existing front lines.

The Russian government was solely focused on "permanent resolution", Lavrov stated on this week, indicating that freezing the front line would merely represent a short-term truce.

Negotiating Stances

The "fundamental issues" of the conflict demanded attention, the Russian diplomat stated, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that encompass the recognition of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.

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

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

Military Considerations

Putin's unplanned conversation with Trump last Thursday came ahead of reports that the United States was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could theoretically target Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader said it was the missile discussion that had forced Russia to participate in talks. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he added.