Upcoming Summit Between Trump and Putin in Budapest in Two Weeks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital Budapest in the next two weeks, in a surprising development coinciding with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House.
Zelensky hopes to convince Washington to supply Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian army in facing Russian escalation.


Russian Warning Against Supplying Kyiv with Missiles

The announcement of the summit came after a phone call between Trump and Putin, during which the latter warned that delivering these U.S. missiles to Kyiv would cause “severe damage” to relations between Moscow and Washington.
Yuri Ushakov, senior advisor to the Russian president, clarified that Putin emphasized during the call that Tomahawk missiles “will not change the battlefield situation in Ukraine, but they will hinder the chances of reaching a peaceful settlement.”

The range of the Tomahawk BGM-109 missile is about 1,600 kilometers, and it can fly at a speed of 880 kilometers per hour at a very low altitude above the ground.

Trump: We Are Not Prepared to Deplete Our Stock

For his part, the U.S. president appeared cautious about the idea of supplying Ukraine with these missiles, stating before reporters in the Oval Office: “We cannot deplete our country's reserves… We also need them, so I don’t know what we can do right now.”


In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump indicated that there was “significant progress” during the phone call with Putin, affirming that the dialogue was “frank and based on mutual trust.”

Preparing for the Upcoming Summit

Trump revealed that the foreign ministers of both countries will hold a preparatory meeting next week, led on the U.S. side by Marco Rubio.
He added: “After the initial meetings, President Putin and I will meet in Budapest to see if we can end this dishonorable war between Russia and Ukraine.”


For his part, Yuri Ushakov confirmed that preparations for the summit have already begun, noting that Budapest is a strong candidate to host the meeting.

Return of Warmth After a Chill in Relations

These developments come after a period of chill between the two leaders since their previous summit in Alaska in mid-August, which ended without achieving tangible progress regarding the war in Ukraine.
Observers believe that the recent call reflects the beginning of a return to warmth in Russian-American relations, especially in light of a mutual desire to resume political dialogue after months of stagnation.

Hungarian Support for the Meeting

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his closeness to both Trump and Putin, welcomed the hosting of the upcoming summit, writing on the X platform (formerly Twitter) “We are ready!”.

Analysts see the choice of Budapest as the summit location as symbolizing Hungary's potential role as a mediator in efforts to end the ongoing war in Ukraine for more than three years.