Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Postponed Days After Hungarian Capital Negotiations Suggested

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

This past week the US president stated he and the Kremlin leader would meet in Hungary's capital within two weeks to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the administration clarified the two had had a "productive" conversation and that a face-to-face session was not "necessary".

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

Previous Developments

Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a day before meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Some reports indicated his talks with Zelensky had been a "contentious discussion", with sources claiming the president had urged him to relinquish extensive regions of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.

Yet, on this week the American president supported a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the current front line.

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

Russia has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.

The Russian government was only interested in "enduring stability", Lavrov said on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would simply constitute a short-term truce.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the war demanded attention, the Russian diplomat said, using Kremlin shorthand for a range of maximalist demands that include the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the disarmament of the country – a non-starter for Ukraine and its EU supporters.

The Ukrainian president said conversations concerning the current lines were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Moscow was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.

He further commented the exclusive issue that could cause Russia to "become engaged" was that of the supply of extended-range arms to Ukraine.

Military Considerations

The Russian president's spontaneous discussion with the US leader recently came ahead of speculation that the United States was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to engage in discussion. The talk about the weapons systems had emerged as a "valuable contribution" in diplomacy", he added.