The Kremlin said Thursday it is working to arrange a new meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, possibly in Budapest, after a lengthy phone call between the two leaders that Moscow described as “extremely frank and marked by mutual trust.”
The conversation, initiated by Russia, took place on the eve of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, where the two are expected to discuss U.S. arms deliveries — including Tomahawk cruise missiles that Trump has not ruled out sending to Kyiv.
Their call comes two months after the last U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, which produced no tangible results as tensions mounted between the two countries.
“It was agreed that representatives from both nations will promptly begin preparations for a summit, which could be held, for example, in Budapest,” said Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, speaking to reporters after the call.
According to Ushakov, the proposal to meet in the Hungarian capital came from Trump and was “immediately supported” by Putin. He described the discussion as “substantive, extremely frank and conducted in a spirit of trust,” adding that it lasted nearly two and a half hours.
Meanwhile, Zelensky arrived in Washington on Thursday afternoon to discuss the possible delivery of long-range American Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Putin, Ushakov said, warned during the call that supplying such weapons would not alter the situation on the battlefield but would “seriously damage relations between our two countries — not to mention the prospects for a peaceful settlement” in Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, Trump told Putin he would take into account the Russian leader’s views before meeting Zelensky on Friday.
AFP
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