Trump Plans Meeting with Putin in Hungary to Push Ukraine Peace Talks
Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in an effort to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, though no date has been se, according to Euro Newst.
Trump revealed the plan after speaking with Putin by phone earlier in the day, a call that comes as Kyiv lobbies Washington for long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory.
The White House confirmed Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday to discuss potential U.S. arms sales and prospects for renewed peace talks. Zelenskyy has argued that access to long-range missiles would strengthen Ukraine’s bargaining power, compelling Putin to take peace negotiations seriously.
Trump told reporters traveling with him to Israel earlier this week that he viewed the missile discussion as a way to pressure Moscow to halt its full-scale invasion. “Do they want to have Tomahawks going in that direction? I don’t think so,” he said.
With a fragile Israel–Hamas ceasefire now holding in Gaza, Trump said he is shifting his focus to ending the Ukraine conflict, a goal central to his 2024 re-election pledge to restore global stability.
“Interestingly, we made progress today because of what’s happened in the Middle East,” Trump told supporters at a White House event Wednesday evening. “First, we have to get Russia done.”
A senior administration official said Hungary was chosen as a neutral venue for potential talks, given Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s close ties to both Washington and Moscow.
Trump’s renewed diplomatic push marks his most ambitious foreign policy move since returning to office; an attempt to claim what eluded his predecessors: an end to Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
