WASHINGTON — United States President Donald Trump said Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, following a phone conversation between the two leaders.
“I have just concluded my telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and it was a very productive one,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“We also spent a great deal of time talking about trade between Russia and the United States when the war with Ukraine is over,” he said.
“I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” he added.
Trump said the two countries agreed to hold a high-level advisers’ meeting next week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the U.S. delegation, adding that the meeting location is yet to be determined.
“President Putin and I 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,” Trump said.
The phone conversation came a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s scheduled visit to the White House.
Trump and Putin met in Alaska in August, but no deal was reached. In late September, Trump said on social media that he believes Ukraine, with support from the European Union and Nato, “is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form.” / XINHUA