According to CCTV News on October 17, on October 16 local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with U.S. President Trump. Nearly 2 months have passed since this call was last. Russian Presidential Assistant Ushakov explained the content of this Russian-US presidential call after the call ended.
Ussakov said the Russian-American president’s call was initiated by the Russian side and lasted 2.5 hours.
Ussakov said that in the call to the President of Russia and the United States, U.S. President Trump has repeatedly emphasized the need to end the conflict in Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible.Putin reiterated that the "war ax" missiles will not change the situation on the battlefield, but greatly harm the relations between Russia and the United States and the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Russia and Ukraine.
Utsakov said that in the Russian-American talks, Trump proposed to meet again with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, and Putin immediately expressed his support.
Ushakov announced that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio will have a telephone conversation in the next few days, when the specific time of Putin's meeting with Trump may become clearer.
Ushakov said Trump told Putin that he would consider the Russian president’s concerns at his meeting with Zelensky tomorrow.
Trump may meet with Putin in next two weeks
According to CCTV News, on the 16th local time, US President Trump stated that he would meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky and tell him the content of the phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said that he may hold separate meetings with Putin and Zelensky, and the meeting with Putin may take place in the next two weeks.
Trump said that on the same day in a call with Putin, the two sides talked about the "Tax" missile-related issue.
US President Trump posted on social media earlier on the 16th that he had a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that day, mainly discussing issues such as ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the subsequent Russia-US trade, and "made great progress".
Russian Presidential Envoy Dmitriyev also said that the phone call between the two presidents was "positive and fruitful" and that the two sides clarified the next step of action.
Orbán: Hungary has begun preparations for meeting with Russian and American leaders
According to Central Television News, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said on social media on October 16 local time that just after he had a regular phone call with the President of the United States, Hungary has begun to prepare for the meeting of US-Russian leaders.
U.S. President Trump posted on social media on the 16th that he had a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that day, mainly discussing issues such as ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict and subsequent Russia-US trade, and "great progress has been made." Trump also said that he and Putin would hold a face-to-face meeting in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. He did not mention the date of the meeting.
Russian Assistant President Ushakov subsequently confirmed the information.
Ukrainian officials met with U.S. President's special envoy to discuss U.S. heads of state talks
According to CCTV News, Yermak, Director of the Office of the President of Ukraine, posted on his official social platform on October 16 that he met with Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and Sergei, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Kislica and Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Stefanishina met with Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine.
Yelmark said the meeting was held on the eve of the upcoming meeting of the U.S. President, aimed at coordinating the key priorities and discussions between the two sides.