U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, following a phone conversation between the two leaders.
"I have just concluded my telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, and it was a very productive one," said Trump on Truth Social.
"We also spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over," he said.
Trump said the two countries agreed to hold a high-level advisors' meeting next week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the U.S. delegation, adding that the meeting location is to be determined.
"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," Trump said.
The call between Trump and Putin lasted for nearly 2.5 hours, and Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the talks as "extremely candid."
Ushakov said that Putin provided a detailed assessment of the current situation, emphasizing Russia's commitment to resolving the Ukraine issue through political and diplomatic means.
He also said one of Trump's key points during the conversation was that ending the conflict in Ukraine would unlock enormous prospects for economic cooperation between Russia and the United States.
Following Trump's announcement of the Budapest meeting, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed readiness to facilitate the talks. He described the planned meeting as "great news for the peace-loving people of the world."
Thursday's phone call came one day ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's scheduled visit to the White House.
Zelenskyy has been lobbying Trump to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses in recent months, including providing Ukraine with "Tomahawk" cruise missiles, which was greatly opposed by Kremlin, saying it will escalate the situation in Ukraine.
Trump and Putin met in the U.S. state of Alaska in August, but no deal was reached. In late September, Trump said on social media that he believes Ukraine, with the support of the European Union and NATO, "is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form."
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