EU leaders trying to intervene in preparations for Trump–Putin meeting - Bloomberg
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
European leaders are seeking ways to influence US President Donald Trump ahead of the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, fearing that his stance could undermine Western unity in supporting Ukraine, Bloomberg informs.
According to the agency, four European officials have expressed concern over the Trump–Putin summit in Budapest.
They noted that Putin intervened just at the moment when relations with Trump were starting to tilt in Ukraine’s favor.
Bloomberg’s sources emphasized that the Russian leader is stalling and trying to disrupt Trump’s planned talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on October 17.
Two of the agency’s sources said that European leaders need to take a firm stance on Russia and find ways to counter Putin’s influence on Trump at the summit.
One suggested that Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who played a key role in White House talks following Trump’s August summit with Putin in Alaska, should somehow be present at the meeting in Hungary.
Additionally, one senior EU official expressed hope that Trump would remember that after the Alaska summit, Putin acted contrary to what the US president had expected.
Trump–Putin meeting
Yesterday, October 16, US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conversation took place ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington.
Trump described the call as productive and announced a new meeting with Putin in Budapest, though the exact date of the summit is not yet known.
Putin also confirmed the possibility of holding a summit with the US president in Budapest.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in turn, called the upcoming Trump–Putin meeting "great news for the peace-loving peoples of the world," stating that Hungary is ready for the summit.
Additionally, Orbán has already announced the start of preparations for the Trump–Putin summit, while Slovakia has offered Hungary assistance in organizing the meeting.
