There are "no arrangements" for US President Donald Trump to meet Russia's Putin "anytime soon", a administration representative has stated.
Last Thursday the US president said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital in the coming fortnight to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
A preparatory meeting between US Secretary of State Secretary Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House stated the two had had a "constructive" discussion and that a meeting was not "needed".
The White House withheld any more details on the reason the negotiations had been delayed.
Trump had discussed a Hungarian meeting during a call with the Russian leader, a just prior to meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House.
Some reports suggested his talks with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources suggesting the president had urged him to relinquish large areas of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.
Nevertheless, on this week the American president endorsed a ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine and EU officials to freeze the hostilities on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he stated.
Russia has consistently objected against freezing the current line of contact.
Moscow was only interested in "long-term, sustainable peace", Russia's foreign minister commented on Tuesday, implying that halting hostilities would merely represent a short-term truce.
The "root causes" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov stated, using Russian diplomatic language for a set of comprehensive conditions that involve the acceptance of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Zelensky commented conversations concerning the front line were the "beginning of diplomacy" but that Russia was "doing everything" to avoid diplomacy.
He additionally stated the only topic that could cause Russia to "pay attention" was that of the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Putin's spontaneous discussion with Trump last Thursday preceded reports that the US was planning to provide distance-capable weapons to Ukrainian forces that could possibly hit Russian territory.
Zelensky said it was the missile discussion that had pressured the Kremlin to enter into dialogue. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had emerged as a "significant input" in international relations", he commented.
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