President Trump said on October 16 that he had a “very effective” call with President Putin, during which both sides agreed to have their senior advisers meet next week at a location to be determined.
“President Putin and I will then meet at the agreed venue — the capital of Hungary, Budapest — to see if we can finally bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote on social media.
He later confirmed that the summit with Putin is expected to take place “in about two weeks,” adding that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will soon meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to finalize details of the meeting. Trump also revealed that Putin was “not thrilled” when he mentioned the potential transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. However, Trump hinted that Kyiv might not receive the weapons after all, saying the U.S. military “cannot afford to deplete” its own stockpiles.
“We need them, too, so I’m not sure how we can handle that,” the President remarked.
The Kremlin welcomed what it called a “highly candid and trustworthy” exchange between Putin and Trump, confirming that preparations for the summit are already underway.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, said the phone call took place at Russia’s request and that Putin had told Trump the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would not alter the battlefield situation but would damage prospects for peace.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — who maintains friendly relations with both Washington and Moscow — said he had also spoken with Trump. “Preparations for the Russia–U.S. peace summit are in progress,” Orbán wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Trump–Putin call came ahead of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.
President Zelensky said the threat of Tomahawk missiles had pressured Moscow into resuming talks. “Moscow quickly returned to dialogue the moment they heard about the Tomahawks,” he stated.
Zelensky expressed hope that momentum from Trump’s successful Middle East peace deal could help bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. He also noted that he would meet with U.S. defense contractors during his visit to discuss potential air defense system supplies.
The upcoming Budapest summit will mark the second U.S.–Russia meeting since Trump’s return to the White House, following the first held in Alaska in August.
Relations between the two leaders have seen ups and downs during Trump’s current term. After an initial period of rapprochement, the U.S. President has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with Putin — particularly after the Alaska summit ended without a breakthrough on ending the war in Ukraine.