Trump Greenlights Talks With Russians, Including a Summit With Putin at Budapest, Ahead of Zelensky Meeting

Just days after President Trump helped bring hostilities between Israel and Hamas to a halt, he says he will turn his attention to the conflict in Ukraine and start a new round of talks with Russian officials. After Secretary Marco Rubio has his discussions with Russian counterparts, Mr. Trump says he is planning to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Hungary. Mr. Trump says that he and Mr. Putin agreed to meet at Budapest sometime in the near future during a phone call on Thursday. The president said the meeting would likely take place within the next two weeks.“I have just concluded my telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, and it was a very productive one,” Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. “At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our High Level Advisors, next week. The United States’ initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with various other people, to be designated.” “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,” Mr. Trump announced.Mr. Trump’s decision to re-engage with the Russians after a fruitless meeting with Mr. Putin in Alaska over the summer comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky is landing at Washington, D.C., for a meeting with the American president. Mr. Trump says he is considering allowing Mr. Zelensky to use American-made Tomahawk missiles to launch attacks deeper into Russian territory. “President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow, in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more. I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” the president said. Mr. Trump has expressed a deep sense of frustration with Mr. Putin since the two leaders met in Alaska in August. There was a discussion about Messrs. Putin and Zelensky meeting one-on-one, to be followed by a meeting between the Russian, Ukrainian, and American presidents. Those meetings never took place. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said it is an embarrassment for Mr. Putin that the war is continuing and that Ukraine is holding on to the majority of its territory. “All we want from President Putin is [to] stop this. Stop killing [Ukrainians] and stop killing Russians,” Mr. Trump said. “It doesn’t make [Putin] look good. It’s a war that he should’ve won in one week, and he’s now going into his fourth year,” he added. “He could make a settlement. We’re willing to settle. I thought we had a deal.”Messrs. Trump and Zelensky will meet at the White House on Friday morning to discuss further attempts to bring the war to a close. Mr. Zelensky has said that some things that could help are additional American sanctions on Russia, as well as an approved use of Tomahawk missiles by Ukrainian forces. Earlier this week, Mr. Zelensky posted on X that he and Mr. Trump had spoken about the “protection of life in our country,” as well as “strengthening” Ukraine “both in terms of air defense … and our long-range capabilities.”“President Trump is well-informed about everything that is happening,” Mr. Zelensky wrote.

Trump Greenlights Talks With Russians, Including a Summit With Putin at Budapest, Ahead of Zelensky Meeting

Trump Greenlights Talks With Russians, Including a Summit With Putin at Budapest, Ahead of Zelensky Meeting

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