Trump-Putin talks in Budapest lack confirmed date - Kremlin
Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (GettyImages)
The exact timing of a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest has not yet been determined, according to the Russian leader’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
"There is an understanding between the presidents, but you cannot postpone what has not been scheduled. Neither Trump nor Putin has named exact dates. Serious preparation is needed," Peskov noted.
He added that both the American and Russian sides need time to organize the negotiations. Thus, there is no official date for the meeting, and its holding will depend on the completion of preparatory procedures.
New Trump-Putin meeting
The day after a phone conversation with Putin, Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. Following the meeting, Trump publicly and on social media called on both sides to stop hostilities at their current positions.
Trump also stated that he plans a new meeting with Putin, likely in Hungary’s capital, Budapest. However, this has already raised a number of controversies, as Putin would have to make a significant detour by plane to reach Budapest.
Moreover, Poland announced the possible arrest of Russian leader Vladimir Putin if his plane crosses the country’s airspace en route to Budapest for the summit with US leader Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, some Western media reported that Trump allegedly tried to persuade Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s conditions and cede the Donbas, threatening the "destruction" of Ukraine, and that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Vitkoff, allegedly encouraged the Ukrainian leader to do so.
Late in the evening in the US, Trump spoke with journalists and assured them that there were no negotiations about giving up Donbas. He stated that Russia controls 78% of the Donetsk region and called on both sides to remain in their current positions.
Some media also reported that during the conversation with Trump, Putin allegedly expressed willingness to return part of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to Ukraine in exchange for a full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbas. Whether this is true is unknown. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy has already stated that Ukraine will not give anything to Russia.
