US President, Donald Trump has disclosed in a Truth Social post that he will meet Russian President, Vladimir Putin in Hungary for more talks on ending the war in Ukraine, following a “very productive” phone call between the pair.
The two leaders previously met in Alaska in August, which did not produce a diplomatic breakthrough, a source of frustration for the U.S. leader who had expected that his longstanding relationship with Putin could pave the way to resolving the ongoing conflict.
Trump said that fresh talks will be held between “high level advisers” next week, led on the US side by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
“President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.”
Donald Trump
White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt said that the call between Putin and Trump “lasted more than two hours.”
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Leavitt echoed many of the things Trump said about the call in his Truth Social post, including that it was “good and productive” and that he feels “great progress” was made.
She added that Trump “deserves great credit” for pursuing peace negotiations so soon after brokering the Gaza ceasefire.
Putin’s special Envoy, Kirill Dmitriev stated that the call between the Russian President and Trump was “positive and productive,” adding, the next steps were “clear.”
In a post on X, he said that the “UK and EU warmongers try very, very hard to derail peace prospects but dialogue and peace and the US-Russia cooperation will prevail.”
Russia has long sought to frame Ukraine and the West as the aggressors in the war, since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Also, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s Foreign Affairs adviser, said that the Russian President initiated the call, which he described as “very frank and trusting.”
He said that Putin emphasized to Trump that selling long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would “inflict significant damage to the relations between our countries.”
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán shared his reaction in a post on X after Trump announced that he would meet Putin in Budapest.
“The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is great news for the peace-loving people of the world. We are ready!”
Viktor Orban
Trump To Meet Zelenskyy Tomorrow
The conversation between Trump and Putin comes a day before Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to visit the US President in Washington DC.
Zelenskyy is likely to ask the US to send long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine to help fight Russia.
The Tomahawk, with a range of about 995 miles (1,600 kilometers), would allow Ukraine to strike far deeper in Russian territory than either the ERAM (about 285 miles, or 460 km) or ATACMS (about 186 miles, or 300 kilometers).
Trump revealed that he will discuss his conversation with Putin when he meets Zelenskyy in the Oval Office tomorrow. “I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” his posts concluded.
Friday’s meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy will be their fourth face-to-face encounter this year. After their initial Oval Office conversation devolved into recriminations, they’ve forged a more amicable relationship.
Trump has said that he is considering selling long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv, something that Putin has said could further damage relations between Moscow and Washington.
According to Mark Montgomery, an Analyst at the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, although such a sale would be a splashy move, it could take years to provide the equipment and training necessary for Ukraine to use Tomahawks.
READ ALSO: Gbande Urges NDC Appointees to Protect Party Interest in Governance
