Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stated this Friday, October 17, that there were “many issues” to be resolved before a possible summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Budapest, while confirming the “desire” for a meeting between both leaders.
“Lavrov and Rubio (the heads of Russian and American diplomacy) will start working on the issue. First they will call each other, they will meet and start discussing all the issues, and there are many questions,” Dmitri Peskov told the press.
A “very productive” exchange
The American and Russian presidents agreed to meet in Budapest “in the next two weeks,” according to the American president.
The two leaders have just relaunched their dialogue. On his social network Truth, Donald Trump considered his exchange with Vladimir Putin “very productive”, and Moscow spoke for its part of an interview “extremely frank and marked by trust.”
“Any meeting that advances the process of establishing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine is welcome,” said Olof Gill, spokesman for the European executive.
Hungary promises safe welcome to Vladimir Putin
Hungary will ensure that Vladimir Putin can travel safely to meet Donald Trump on its territory, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjarto said on Friday.
“Of course, here in Hungary, in Budapest, we are ready to provide adequate conditions for the American and Russian presidents to hold talks in safe and peaceful circumstances,” Péter Szijjarto said at a press conference.
Vladimir Putin has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but Hungary has announced its withdrawal from the ICC, effective June 2, 2026.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin this morning. The Russian president informed Viktor Orban of his conversation this Thursday with Donald Trump, “noting that during the next contacts with American representatives it is planned to discuss the next steps to find ways to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian crisis, including holding a Russian-American summit in the Hungarian capital,” the Kremlin added.
In April, Viktor Orban had already received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also the subject of an arrest warrant from the institution based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Source: BFM TV
