U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy phone conversation lasting more than two hours. Sources claim that the two leaders discussed prospects for a new “peace process” on Ukraine and tentatively agreed to meet in Budapest in the coming weeks – just days before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to visit the White House.

According to reports, the initiative for the contact came from the American side. During the discussion, they addressed issues of security, nuclear control, prisoner exchanges, and – most notably – the situation in Ukraine.

“We spoke very openly. I think we can do something good for all sides”, Trump said after the call, without providing details.

Putin, for his part, stated that “the U.S. must stop adding fuel to the fire” if Washington truly wants peace, and once again warned of “unpredictable consequences” from supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles.

The conversation between Trump and Putin took place just days before Zelensky’s planned visit to Washington, where a new package of military aid to Ukraine is expected to be discussed. According to Western analysts, the phone contact between the U.S. and Russian leaders may represent Moscow’s attempt to seize the diplomatic initiative – signaling that any decisions made by Washington will be viewed by the Kremlin as pressure, not support.

Meanwhile, the White House insists that the conversation with Putin is “part of international diplomacy”, not a shift in U.S. policy.

The choice of Budapest as the possible meeting venue is not accidental. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long been an ally of Donald Trump and remains one of the few European leaders to maintain a neutral or soft stance toward Moscow.

Thus, Budapest offers a convenient platform where Putin can appear without the threat of international arrest warrants – while maintaining the appearance of a neutral setting.

Kyiv’s reaction has been cautious. Zelensky’s press office stated that “any negotiations without Ukraine’s participation cannot be considered real peace initiatives”. Moscow, on the other hand, views the conversation as “a positive signal” and a chance to “reset” relations with the United States.

The European Union and NATO have expressed concern. Officials in Brussels fear that such moves by Trump could “undermine” the West’s united stance on Ukraine.

The Trump-Putin phone call marks the first extended dialogue between the two leaders since Trump’s return to the White House. Yet, more important is the timing: the discussion coincides with a period when the U.S. and Europe are debating whether to continue their costly military support for Kyiv. According to experts, Trump is using the situation to portray himself as a “peacemaker” – someone capable of negotiating with Putin where Biden failed. Moscow, meanwhile, is seeking to legitimize itself as an equal participant in peace talks rather than as a belligerent party. This diplomatic maneuver may mark the beginning of a new phase of a “cold peace”, in which Moscow and Washington attempt to define the limits of the acceptable – possibly without involving Kyiv in key decisions. The Trump-Putin conversation is not merely a diplomatic episode. It is a signal that the architecture of war and peace in Europe may once again be rewritten – but this time without the old rules.

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#UKRAINE

17.10.2025 07:17