President Donald Trump said Thursday he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, following what he described as a "productive" phone call with the Kremlin leader. The announcement came a day before Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House for talks on potential U.S. military aid.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I believe great progress was made with today's telephone conversation." He said the two-hour discussion touched on next steps for peace negotiations and confirmed that senior officials from both sides would meet next week to prepare for the summit. "President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary," Trump wrote.
The White House did not provide a date for the summit, but Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would lead the U.S. delegation in preliminary talks with Russian officials. He also noted that Putin had congratulated him on the recent deal to end the war in Gaza.
The planned Budapest summit would mark the second direct meeting between the two leaders this year. Their first, held in Alaska in August, produced no tangible progress toward peace. Trump had attempted to arrange a trilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, but Moscow rejected the proposal.
The timing of Trump's latest outreach to Putin coincides with renewed debate in Washington over whether to provide Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles. Trump told reporters last week he was considering the move to pressure Moscow into "serious peace talks." "Either Russia holds serious peace talks or Ukraine gets Tomahawks," Trump said.
The missiles, capable of striking targets near Moscow, have stirred concern in the Kremlin. Russian officials described the proposal as an "extreme escalation risk." A Ukrainian official told Axios on Wednesday that Kyiv was still uncertain whether Trump would authorize the transfer, though Zelensky has argued the weapons could "force Putin to the negotiating table."
Zelensky's visit to the White House on Friday is expected to center on U.S. weapons deliveries and Ukraine's broader strategy for ending the war. Kyiv is seeking faster shipments of Patriot air-defense systems and expanded access to U.S. technology for missile defense. "President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow, in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
