U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a “very good conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and plans to meet him “in about two weeks” in Hungary. He made the statement during a White House press conference on October 16. According to Trump, the talks will be hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who will act as a mediator.
“I think we’re going to meet in Hungary. Viktor Orbán will host it. We want peace. We want to stop the killing. Seven thousand people were killed last week — that’s ridiculous,” Trump said, adding that the main goal of the meeting is “to end the war that has taken millions of lives.”
The U.S. president also confirmed he will meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on October 17. “Tomorrow I’ll be meeting with Zelenskyy and telling him about the call with Putin. They have a terrible relationship, so maybe we’ll talk separately, but with the same approach,” he said.
Trump expressed confidence that agreements can be reached: “I didn’t start this war. This is a ‘Biden deal,’ and it could have led to World War III. I’m not doing this for us — we have an ocean between us. I’m doing it to save souls.”
When asked about possible deliveries of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Trump confirmed that the issue came up during his call with Putin:
“Of course he was against it. Who would want Tomahawks fired at them? I even asked him, ‘Do you mind if I give a couple thousand of these missiles to your opponent?’ He didn’t like that idea at all.”
Trump did not specify whether a decision on supplying the missiles to Ukraine had been made, but noted that the U.S. “also needs these systems for its own defense.”