Trump and Putin spoke in "a long conversation" on Thursday, Trump writes on Truth Social. The conversation took place before Friday's meeting between the American president and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyj, who landed in Washington late on Thursday evening.
The phone call was also confirmed by both the White House and Putin's adviser Jurij Usjakov, who describes the conversation as "extremely straightforward and trusting" and that preparations for the meeting have basically already begun.
Usjakov also states that the conversation was initiated by Russia.
Orbán welcomes
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces that he welcomes a meeting in Budapest:
"The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is fantastic news for all peace-loving people on earth. We are ready!", he writes on X.
Trump writes on his platform Truth Social that "great successes" were achieved during the conversation.
As early as next week, representatives of the USA and Russia will meet before a summit, Trump writes, and says that Foreign Minister Marco Rubio will participate.
Trump and Putin met at a notable meeting in the American state of Alaska in mid-August. No real progress was made in peace efforts in the Russian invasion war at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska.
Will inform
The American president says he will inform Zelenskyj about the conversation with Putin when the two meet on Friday.
On the agenda for the meeting with Zelenskyj are the American Tomahawk robots highly desired by Ukraine. If Ukraine were to gain access to them, it could change the conditions for the war, and Zelenskyj's hope is that it can force President Putin to the negotiating table.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha claims in a post on X that Kyiv's possible access to Tomahawk "forced" Putin to resume dialogue with the USA.
The Kremlin has always claimed that it would mean an escalation of the war if Ukraine were to gain access to the weapon and that it would damage the relationship between the USA and Russia.
