Trump Holds Phone Call with Putin: "To Meet in Hungary Within Two Weeks to Discuss Ending the War" (Comprehensive)

"Success in the Middle East Will Help Negotiations to End the War in Ukraine"

On October 16 (local time), President Donald Trump of the United States announced that he had a phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, during which they discussed ending the war in Ukraine and trade issues between the two countries. The two leaders are scheduled to meet in Budapest, Hungary, following a high-level meeting between the two nations next week.

Donald Trump, President of the United States. Photo by UPI News Agency

President Trump stated via his self-created social networking service, Truth Social, "The phone call with President Putin was very productive," and shared this information.

President Trump said, "He (President Putin) congratulated me and the United States on achieving the long-held aspiration of great peace in the Middle East," adding, "I also believe that the success in the Middle East will help the negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war."

This statement suggests that, following his mediation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, President Trump is set to actively pursue diplomatic mediation to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

President Trump announced, "We agreed to hold a high-level meeting between the United States and Russia next week," specifying that "the U.S. side will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio." He continued, "(After that) I will meet with President Putin at the agreed location in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss whether we can bring an end to this 'inglorious' war."

Since taking office, President Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine one of his top diplomatic priorities. However, due to Russia’s passive approach to negotiations and lack of progress, he has taken steps to cut off Russia’s war funding, such as pressuring India and European countries to halt purchases of Russian oil. He has also indicated the possibility of providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine at Ukraine’s request.

He stated, "I believe today’s phone call brought significant progress," adding, "Tomorrow (the 17th), I will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to discuss the contents of the call and various issues." President Trump is scheduled to meet President Zelensky at the White House on October 17.

Later, at an event held at the White House, President Trump predicted that his meeting with President Putin in Hungary would take place "within two weeks." He also mentioned that he brought up the issue of Tomahawk missile support requested by Ukraine during his call with President Putin.

President Trump said, "I asked, 'Would you be okay if I gave thousands of Tomahawk missiles to your enemy?' I said it exactly like that. He did not like the idea." He continued, "We have a lot of Tomahawk missiles, but we need them too," indicating that he has not yet made a firm decision to provide them to Ukraine.

The Russian side also stated that the two leaders had a "frank conversation" that day. Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy adviser to the Kremlin, told TASS news agency, "The two leaders spoke for nearly two hours and thirty minutes," and added, "It was a very candid and trust-based conversation that covered a lot of information." He noted that this was the eighth call since President Trump’s second inauguration and said, "The call was very useful, and the two leaders agreed to stay in contact."

Adviser Ushakov also said that the two leaders discussed the Tomahawk missile issue, explaining, "President Putin reiterated his belief that Tomahawk missiles would not change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause significant harm to both the prospects for a peaceful resolution and the relationship between the two countries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.