Russia was an indirect beneficiary of the war in Gaza in that it distracted the U.S. and other Western countries from its ongoing war in Ukraine.
But now that there’s a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a fledgling peace process has begun, U.S. President Donald Trump is turning his sights on ending the war in Ukraine.
The president said Thursday that he and other “high-level advisors” will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss how to end the war. It comes following a call with the two leaders in which Trump said Putin had congratulated him on the “great accomplishment of peace in the Middle East.”
“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. ... I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The meeting will be the second time the leaders have come face-to-face during Trump’s second term, and could happen within the next two weeks, according to the U.S. leader.
