Arrangements for Trump-Putin Talks Delayed Shortly Following Budapest Talks Announced

There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a White House official has announced.

Recently the US president indicated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

A initial discussion between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was planned for recently - but the administration stated the two had had a "productive" call and that a meeting was no longer "needed".

The White House did not share any more details on why the talks had been delayed.

Previous Developments

The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.

Certain accounts claimed his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "heated exchange", with insiders suggesting Trump had pressured him to cede significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a agreement with Russia.

However, on Monday Trump embraced a truce plan endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the hostilities on the current front line.

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

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

Moscow was only interested in "permanent resolution", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, suggesting that halting hostilities would only amount to a brief pause.

Diplomatic Positions

The "underlying reasons" of the conflict required resolution, the Russian diplomat stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of comprehensive conditions that include the acknowledgment of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a impossible condition for Ukraine and its Western allies.

Zelensky said discussions about the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of extended-range arms to the Ukrainian military.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unscheduled call with the US leader last Thursday came ahead of reports that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukraine that could theoretically target inside Russia.

The Ukrainian leader asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to enter into dialogue. The discussion regarding the missiles had turned out to be a "strong investment" in negotiations", he remarked.