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Trump says he will meet Putin to discuss war in Ukraine after ‘major progress’ in phone call
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Trump says he will meet Putin to discuss war in Ukraine after ‘major progress’ in phone call

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US President Donald Trump has said he will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest after making “great progress” in a phone call, just a day before the Ukrainian leader is due to appear at the White House to push for US-made Tomahawk missiles.
Trump did not give a date for the meeting in the Hungarian capital, which would be his second meeting with Putin since returning to office. The pair met in Alaska in August without a breakthrough in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“I believe great progress has been made with today’s call,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump said he and Putin would meet at an agreed location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can put an end to this “glorious” war between Russia and Ukraine.

Top US and Russian officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would hold “initial meetings” next week at a location yet to be determined, Trump said.

Trump’s comments represented the latest twist in his relations with Putin, after he recently expressed growing frustration with the Kremlin leader over his refusal to reach a peace deal.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed on social media that preparations for the meeting have already begun, stating that it was “great news for the peace-loving people of the world.”

‘New level of escalation’

The Kremlin announced it would “immediately” begin preparations for a summit between Russian and American leaders.
“It has been agreed that representatives of the two countries will immediately start organizing the summit, which could be held, for example, in Budapest,” Putin’s top aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Ushakov said the Budapest location was proposed by Trump, who was “immediately” supported by Putin.

“It was a very substantive conversation, and at the same time extremely frank and confidence-inspiring,” says Ushakov, who says the two-and-a-half-hour conversation was initiated by Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Trump at the White House on Friday to urge him to increase pressure on Putin.
At the meeting, “the main topic of discussion is the Tomahawks,” a senior Ukrainian official told news agency Agence France-Presse.
Trump is considering a request from Ukraine for American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of about 1,000 miles and could strike deep into Russia.

Putin’s aide said the Russian president had “reiterated his point that the Tomahawks will not change the situation on the battlefield, but will significantly damage relations between our countries.”

Trump had warned over the weekend that he would likely raise the issue first with Putin, who has warned that the Tomahawk offer would represent a “whole new level of escalation.”
“Maybe I’ll talk to him, I might say, ‘Look, if this war doesn’t end, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’ I can say that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Middle East.
“The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, a very offensive weapon, and frankly Russia doesn’t need it.”

Trump said the Ukrainians want to “go offensive” and would discuss their request for the cruise missiles.

‘Don’t have the cards’

Relations between Trump and Zelenskyy have since warmed since February, when they sparred during a now infamous television meeting at the White House, where the US leader told his Ukrainian counterpart: “You don’t hold the cards.”
But it remains to be seen how Zelenskyy will respond to Trump’s latest apparent rapprochement with Putin.

Tomahawks would be an important addition to Ukraine’s arsenal, consolidating Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities with a missile that can fly close to the ground at near-supersonic speed to evade radar detection.

The U.S. has used Tomahawks for more than four decades and in some of the country’s most high-profile conflicts, from the 1991 Gulf War to this year’s U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.
Senior Ukrainian officials visiting Washington this week met with representatives of US arms manufacturers, including Raytheon, which produces Tomahawk missiles.
As the war enters its fourth year, Russia launched new attacks on energy facilities in eastern Ukraine, repeating the pattern of focus on Ukraine’s electricity grid that it has followed every winter.
Energy has been a core factor throughout the war, with Trump saying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him that India would stop buying Russian oil.

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