A long-anticipated meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump may take place in Budapest within the next two weeks, the Kremlin confirmed Friday, marking what could be the most closely watched diplomatic encounter in years.
“It could indeed take place within two weeks or a little later,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. “There’s a general understanding that there’s no need to delay.”
Trump had earlier said that the two leaders might meet in Hungary after senior U.S. and Russian officials hold preliminary talks next week, describing his recent phone conversation with Putin as “very productive.”
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov characterized that call as “substantive, frank, and confidential,” adding that both sides agreed to begin preparations for a face-to-face summit. Budapest, he said, emerged as the leading candidate for its symbolic neutrality, an EU and NATO member with an independent foreign policy under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Peskov noted that the logistics of Putin’s travel remain under discussion, and the groundwork will be laid by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the coming days.
Pressed on whether the two leaders discussed the New START nuclear treaty or U.S. plans to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Peskov declined to elaborate but said Putin made Russia’s stance on the missile issue “crystal clear.”
The potential summit follows Moscow’s outreach after Trump’s recent Middle East trip. “President Putin wanted to congratulate President Trump on that success,” Peskov said, framing the call as both congratulatory and strategic, signaling a tentative thaw between two men whose personal rapport once shaped global headlines.
