Trump says Budapest meeting with Putin is planned after long call

Trump Announcement Today: President Donald Trump announced on social media that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss the war in Ukraine. President Trump made the claim on Truth Social after what he described as a “very productive” phone call with Putin that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours. He did not say when the meeting would take place.

Trump wrote that he and Putin “will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.” He added that he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office the next day to discuss the call and “much more.”

What the trump announcement today included

The president’s post laid out several immediate follow-ups and talking points:

• A high-level delegation from the United States will meet with Russian officials next week, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with other advisers to be named and a location “to be determined.”
• Trump said Putin congratulated the U.S. on its recent Middle East peace developments and suggested that success might help negotiations to end the Ukraine war.
• Trump noted trade between the U.S. and Russia after the war was discussed, and mentioned Putin thanked First Lady Melania Trump for her work reuniting children with families.
• Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the call as “highly informative and extremely frank,” and said Putin immediately supported the idea of a Budapest summit.

Timing, context and reactions

The planned Budapest meeting comes more than two months after Trump’s last in-person summit with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. Budapest had been a finalist to host that earlier meeting, according to Trump’s announcement, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said preparations are already underway. Orbán posted on X, “Hungary is the island of PEACE!”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the administration would share “more details as soon as we can.” Stressing the call had “just happened” and lasted “more than two hours.” She said she’d been speaking with senior officials who called the conversation “very good and productive.”

Trump, Zelensky and the Tomahawk question

Trump’s call with Putin came just before his scheduled meeting with President Zelensky. CNN reported Zelensky intends to raise air defense and long-range strike capability. Zelensky himself said he expects momentum from the Middle East developments to help end Russia’s war, and that talk of U.S. Tomahawk missiles had prompted Moscow to return to dialogue.

The Kremlin said Putin repeated his view that Tomahawk missiles “would not change the situation on the battlefield.” But would damage relations and complicate a peaceful resolution. Ushakov said Trump told Putin he would “take into account” Moscow’s concerns during his talks with Zelensky.

What’s next

Preparations for U.S.-Russia talks are now moving ahead. Trump plans to meet Putin in Budapest, the White House will send a delegation led by Rubio. And Trump will brief Zelensky in Washington the following day. Officials say more details will follow as discussions progress.

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