On October 16, local time, U.S. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation. Both sides believed that the talks were fruitful and confirmed that the Russian and US presidents would hold a meeting in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.
On August 15 this year, Putin and Trump met in Alaska, the United States, and then the two sides held a phone call on August 19. The call on October 16 had been 59 days since the previous call, but it "happened" to be a day before Ukraine President Zelensky visited the United States to seek the Tomahawk missile.
The Russian President’s call was successful.
The two sides will meet in Budapest
The call was initiated by Russia and lasted 2.5 hours
Later on the 16th, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his personal social media platform the contents of his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin that day and said the conversation was very productive. Shortly after Trump's statement, Russian President's special envoy Dmitry Dmitryev also said that the call between the two presidents was "positive and productive" and both sides clarified the next action plan.
Subsequently, Russian Presidential Assistant Ushakov also announced the details of this call between the Russian and American presidents. According to Ushakov, this call was proposed and initiated by Russia, and the call between the two sides lasted for 2.5 hours.
Trump proposes to meet in Budapest, Putin agrees
Trump has announced that before his meeting with Putin, US Secretary of State rubio will represent the US in the preparatory meeting with Russia. The venue of the meeting and the membership of the delegation have not yet been determined. Trump said that after the meeting of Russia-US advisers, he will meet with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss whether the conflict between Russia and Ukraine can be ended.
According to the Russian side, in this Russian-American conversation, Trump first proposed to meet again with Putin in Budapest, Hungary's capital, and Putin then expressed his support.
Later on the 16th, Trump once again mentioned his phone call with Putin that day and said that the meeting with Putin in Budapest might take place within two weeks.
Trump: Discussing Russia-US trade after the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Trump said he remained committed to helping resolve the Ukraine conflict, and the two sides spent a lot of time on the phone discussing trade issues between Russia and the United States after the end of the Ukraine conflict.
Putin: U.S. Supply of Ukraine’s “Tax” Harms Russian-American Relations
In addition, the President of Russia and the United States also communicated on issues related to the current general concerns of the outside world, the United States or the provision of "strike ax" missiles to Ukraine.
Russian Assistant President Ussakov said Russian President Vladimir Putin told Trump in a call that U.S. provision of a “tacksack” to Ukraine would not help change the situation on the battlefield, but would also undermine the peace process and undermine Russian-US relations.
The Russian side has repeatedly responded to the possibility that the U.S. may provide Ukraine with "tacks" missiles. Russian President's press secretary Peskov said on 12th that even if Ukraine obtains a "tacks", it will not change the front scene. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also said on 15th that providing Ukraine with "tacks" missiles will greatly damage the prospect of normalization of Russian-US relations, and will mean the Russian-US relations will emerge the most dangerous tension.
President of Ukraine will visit the White House on 17th to seek a "war ax" from the United States
According to Trump's statement after talking with Putin on the 16th, he will meet with Ukraine President Zelensky at the White House on the 17th and discuss the call with Putin with Zelensky. Earlier, in response to a reporter's question, Trump had said that he would discuss with Zelensky the issue of the United States providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
In fact, this is not the first time that Zelensky has asked US President Trump to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. As early as September this year, when Dizelensky went to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly, he made a request to Trump, hoping to obtain a new type of weapon from the United States. On September 25, Zelensky revealed in an interview with the American media Aksios News Network that he hoped to obtain a "long-range weapon" that was later confirmed to be a "Tomahawk" cruise missile.
Several senior U.S. officials, including U.S. President Trump and Vice President Wences, have responded to the supply of U.S. "war-ax" missiles, but so far, the U.S. has not announced its final decision.
Why does Ukraine insist on wanting the "Tomahawk"?
The Tomahawk is a US-made subsonic cruise missile with a maximum range of more than 2000 kilometers. Russian media and experts said that if the missile is deployed in Ukraine, its strike range can cover the entire central region of Russia and reach Russia's deep hinterland such as the Ural Mountains. Major cities such as the capital, Moscow and St. Petersburg, will be threatened.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Shmeygar said on the 15th that Ukraine currently mainly uses long-range drones to carry out in-depth strikes against Russia. But to achieve effective attacks in depth, it is necessary to be equipped with long-range strike weapons with matching ranges, that is, missiles provided by partners. Shmeygar said that currently, Ukraine is discussing with relevant parties all types of long-range missiles that can be provided to Ukraine.
Analysis: U.S. “Thatch” aims to put pressure on Russia
Analysts pointed out that the discussion of the "Tomahawk" issue between the United States and Ukraine at this time is intended to put pressure on Russia. Trump has always regarded ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a major diplomatic goal of his own. Recently, he has become increasingly dissatisfied with Russia because of the lack of progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks. On the 14th, he publicly expressed his "great disappointment" with Putin.
However, Trump is always vague when asked by the media whether he would really provide a “tacksack”.The public opinion believes that he does not want this to trigger a war escalation and nuclear risk, much less to involve the United States directly in the conflict.
Therefore, some analysts believe that the United States frequently mentions the "tomahawk" of supplying supplies to Ukraine at this time, which is taking the opportunity to further put pressure on Russia, thereby promoting the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
After the Alaska meeting, the peace process in Russia appears to be blurred.
However, Russian and American presidents have rarely interacted since the Alaska talks on August 15th, while the two sides said the talks were “constructive” and “fruitful”, but they have not reached any agreement on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Since then, the Russian side has also released communications with the United States about the extension of the New Strategic Weapons Reduction Treaty and the content of the Russian-U.S. government deal, and the US has not received any response.
On October 8, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov stated that the impetus for mediation on the Ukraine issue created after the meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States in Alaska had been exhausted. However, on the 10th, Putin gave a relatively positive evaluation on related issues. Putin said that the heads of state of Russia and the United States reached a basic consensus on resolving the Ukraine crisis in Alaska and agreed to consider relevant solution measures. This basic consensus still exists.
According to the latest content of the phone call between the Russian and US presidents on the 16th, Trump and Putin are expected to meet again in Budapest, Hungary. However, according to Putin's statement on the 16th, if Trump still decides to supply Ukraine with the "Tomahawk" after the meeting with Zelensky on the 17th, it will obviously seriously damage Russia-US relations. Whether the subsequent Russia-US presidential meeting in Budapest can proceed smoothly will probably be a question mark.