By Emel Akan
Contributing Writer
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said that he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and agreed to meet with him in Budapest, Hungary, aiming to end what he called the “inglorious” war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had concluded “a very productive” call with Putin.
“At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our high level advisors, next week,” Trump said, adding that the initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials to be named. A meeting venue has yet 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 did not provide a date for his summit with Putin. The two leaders met in Alaska in August, but that summit failed to produce a breakthrough toward peace.
The call, which lasted more than two hours, came a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is slated to visit the White House as part of a renewed push to resolve the war in Eastern Europe.
After successfully brokering a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Trump has now turned his focus to Ukraine.
The international community will be closely watching what pressures he might employ to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe’s deadliest since World War II.
Trump said the successful implementation of the peace deal in Gaza will be helpful in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
“President Putin congratulated me and the United States on the great accomplishment of peace in the Middle East, something that, he said, has been dreamed of for centuries,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “I actually believe that the success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the war with Russia/Ukraine.”
As part of the effort, Trump will host Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday for a high-level meeting.
In recent days, Russia has intensified missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, targeting mainly its civilian energy infrastructure. In the early hours of Thursday, Moscow launched more than 300 drones and fired 37 missiles at targets throughout Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a message on X.
He added that Russia is “using double terror” by continuing its strikes to target firefighters and energy workers who are trying to restore damaged facilities.
Trump earlier said that he was considering sending Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles for use in its war with Russia.
“If this war doesn’t get settled, I may send Tomahawks,” Trump told reporters early this week.
He also said that he needed Ukraine to answer some questions before finalizing his decision.
On Oct. 2, Putin warned that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would lead to “a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation” in the conflict.
The critical meeting at the White House will set the stage for a global push to end the war through strength, the ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna, wrote in a statement.
“The key topics of the visit include strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, boosting the resilience of our energy sector, expanding long-range capabilities, and exploring additional sanctions on Russia,” she said.
One of the important announcements from the White House meeting is expected to be new arms deliveries to Ukraine under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, Stefanishyna said, referring to the NATO-led initiative that helps Kiev purchase U.S.-sourced weapons. The establishment of PURL was announced on July 14 during a meeting between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“Beyond military cooperation, this week is also a moment to advance Ukraine-U.S. economic ties,” Stefanishyna added.
“The ambitious bilateral critical minerals deal has already entered the implementation phase, with initial projects underway. In parallel, we have launched negotiations on a unique technology-sharing agreement that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone technologies — across land, air, and maritime platforms.”
