Washington DC - President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he wants to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin only when a productive summit can be expected.

Trump did not directly confirm media reports suggesting that a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart had been put on hold or delayed.

However, when asked by a reporter what he knew about the alleged change of plans and whether it would affect his stance on a potential US sale of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, he said: "I don't want to have a wasted meeting."

"I don't want to have a waste of time, so I'll see what happens," Trump added in the Oval Office.

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Trump said no decision had been made yet, and it was unclear whether he was referring to a potential meeting with Putin or the question of long-range missile sales to Ukraine.

He said he would provide an update within the next two days and reiterated his view that the front lines in Ukraine should be frozen as part of any effort to end the conflict.

Several media outlets had earlier reported that Trump's planned meeting with Putin in Budapest appears increasingly uncertain.

Politico cited the White House saying that the planned meeting in Budapest was no longer in the works after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.

CNN also reported based on White House sources that the summit could be delayed, with a preliminary meeting between Rubio and Lavrov – seen as a key step before the presidents meet – put on hold.

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NBC News said the Monday call had been "productive," but that officials believed Russia and Ukraine were not ready for serious peace talks.

The Washington Post also reported that there were no plans for a meeting in the near future.

Trump had announced last Thursday that he wanted to meet with Putin in Budapest to discuss the war in Ukraine. He did not specify a date, but shortly afterward spoke of "probably in the next two weeks.