Just days after helping to bring hostilities between Israel and Hamas to a halt, President Trump has announced that he will turn his attention to the conflict in Ukraine and initiate a new round of talks with Russian officials.
Following discussions led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Russian counterparts, Mr. Trump plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Hungary. The two leaders agreed during a phone call on Thursday to hold the meeting in Budapest sometime in the near future, likely 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 follows a fruitless meeting with Mr. Putin in Alaska over the summer. This comes as President Zelensky is arriving in Washington, D.C. for a meeting with the American president.
During their upcoming meeting, Mr. Trump 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.
Since the Alaska meeting in August, Mr. Trump has expressed deep frustration with Mr. Putin. There had been discussions about possible one-on-one meetings between Messrs. Putin and Zelensky, followed by a trilateral meeting involving the Russian, Ukrainian, and American presidents. However, those meetings never took place.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Mr. Trump stated that the ongoing war and Ukraine’s ability to hold most of its territory is an embarrassment for Mr. Putin.
“All we want from President Putin is to stop this. Stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians,” Mr. Trump said. “It doesn’t make him look good. It’s a war that he should’ve won in one week, and he’s now going into his fourth year.”
“He could make a settlement. We’re willing to settle. I thought we had a deal,” the president added.
Messrs. Trump and Zelensky will meet at the White House on Friday morning to discuss further efforts to bring the conflict to a close. Mr. Zelensky has indicated that additional American sanctions on Russia, as well as approval for the use of Tomahawk missiles by Ukrainian forces, could help.
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.
https://www.nysun.com/article/trump-greenlights-talks-with-russians-including-a-summit-with-putin-at-budapest-ahead-of-zelensky-meeting