There are "no preparations" for American leader Donald Trump to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has stated.
Last Thursday Trump said he and the Kremlin leader would hold talks in Hungary's capital soon to discuss the ongoing hostilities.
A initial discussion between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his opposite number Foreign Minister Lavrov was scheduled to occur this week - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was not "necessary".
The administration did not share any more details on why the talks had been postponed.
Earlier Events
The US president had discussed a Hungarian meeting via telephone with Putin, a just prior to meeting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Certain accounts indicated his talks with the Ukrainian leader had been a "contentious discussion", with insiders indicating Trump had pushed him to give up significant territories of Ukraine's east as part of a settlement with Russia.
Nevertheless, on Monday Trump endorsed a ceasefire proposal endorsed by Kyiv and European leaders to pause the conflict on the existing battle lines.
"Let it be cut where it stands," he said.
Russia has frequently resisted against freezing the existing front lines.
The Russian government was exclusively seeking "enduring stability", Lavrov said on this week, suggesting that freezing the front line would simply constitute a temporary ceasefire.
Diplomatic Positions
The "fundamental issues" of the hostilities demanded attention, Lavrov said, using Russian diplomatic language for a series of maximalist demands that include the recognition of full Russian sovereignty over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of the country – a non-starter for Kyiv and its European partners.
The Ukrainian president said discussions about the battle positions were the "commencement of dialogue" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to prevent dialogue.
He also said the only topic that could make Moscow "pay attention" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Weapons Discussions
Putin's spontaneous discussion with the US leader last Thursday occurred before speculation that the US was planning to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could potentially strike Russian territory.
Zelensky said it was the Tomahawks issue that had pressured the Kremlin to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the weapons systems had turned out to be a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he commented.
