US President Donald Trump plans to meet with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital Budapest in the struggle to end the war in Ukraine. He announced this after a phone call with the Russian president on the Truth Social platform. He did not specify a specific date. He said there will be a meeting of high-level government officials next week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the talks.

The location has yet to be determined. Trump called the phone call with Putin"very productive." The discussion also addressed trade relations between the US and Russia after the intended end to the war in Ukraine. He was convinced that the"success in the Middle East," i.e., the ceasefire agreement after two years of the Gaza War, would help in the negotiations on Ukraine.

The Kremlin initially did not comment on the conversation. Only Moscow's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who was involved in the talks with the US, wrote on the X platform:"The next summit is coming soon." At the same time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban responded promptly, also writing on X:"We are ready!"

Zelensky's role unclear

Trump's announcement did not mention any involvement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The US president simply wrote that he would speak with the Ukrainian at the White House on Friday about his phone call with President Putin.

During his visit to Washington, Zelenskyy actually wants Trump to approve the sale of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to his country. The deal could be financed by NATO partners. The Kremlin has strongly warned the US government against such a delivery. Russia's former president and deputy head of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, even hinted at a possible nuclear retaliation. The talks between Trump and Putin could now inject new momentum into the meeting.

Alaska summit produced no results

The last personal meeting between Trump and Putin was about two months ago. The US president received the Kremlin chief in August in the US state of Alaska. It was the first meeting between a sitting US president and Putin in more than four years. After the Russian invasion in February 2022, there was largely radio silence under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, as the US became the most important supporter of the Ukrainian defenders.

The summit in Alaska failed to produce tangible results toward a swift peace solution to the Ukraine war. Trump had also repeatedly suggested a three-way meeting between Putin, Zelensky, and Trump, but this hasn't materialized yet.