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Currently exist "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has announced.

Last Thursday the US president said he and the Russian president would meet in Budapest in the coming fortnight to address the ongoing hostilities.

A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was due to be held this week - but the administration said the two had had a "positive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "needed".

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

Background Context

Trump had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports suggested his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "shouting match", with those familiar suggesting the president had pushed him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on this week Trump embraced a ceasefire proposal supported by Ukraine and European leaders to freeze the hostilities on the present positions.

"Leave it as is where it stands," he remarked.

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

Moscow was solely focused on "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that halting hostilities would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.

Political Perspectives

The "root causes" of the hostilities demanded attention, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the Donbas as well as the demilitarisation of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president said discussions about the front line were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "employing all tactics" to avoid diplomacy.

He further commented the only topic that could make Moscow "become engaged" was that of the delivery of distance-capable munitions to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday preceded speculation that the US was planning to provide extended-range cruise missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target Russian territory.

Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The conversation concerning the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in international relations", he added.