In brief
Donald Trump revealed that he and Vladimir Putin had a productive phone call and agreed to meet face-to-face in Hungary to discuss Ukraine and trade matters. The Kremlin confirmed that plans for the meeting would begin immediately. The conversation comes on the eve of Ukraine's President Zelensky's visit to the White House as discussions about arming Ukraine intensify. This meeting follows their last summit in Alaska, where attempts to broker peace did not yield significant results.
US President Donald Trump says great progress was made during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks in Hungary.
He said the call, the first with Putin since mid-August, was very productive, adding that teams from Washington and Moscow will meet next week.
Trump did not confirm a date for his meeting with Putin in Budapest. The Kremlin said work on the summit would begin immediately after the extremely frank and trustful call.
The talks came a day before Ukraine's President Zelensky was to visit the White House, and with Trump weighing whether to arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russia.
As he arrived in the US, Zelensky said Moscow was rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks. Trump also mentioned that the conversation encompassed trade relations between Russia and the US post-war.
Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna, criticized Russia's recent strikes on Ukraine as a sign of its true attitude towards peace. Meanwhile, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed the planned meeting as positive news for global peace efforts.
Trump's more robust stance against Putin follows a previous unsuccessful summit in Alaska, and he has cited the ongoing war as a complex challenge. Discussions regarding the provision of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine are likely to feature prominently in Zelensky's upcoming visit to Washington.
