Overview
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would favor Budapest for a leaders’ meeting only if Washington returns to the initiative and begins thorough preparations.
- President Donald Trump has publicly expressed a preference to keep Budapest as the potential site for talks with President Vladimir Putin.
- Despite Trump’s Oct. 16 statement that he and Putin agreed to meet in Budapest soon, no date has been set.
- Lavrov said he spoke with Marco Rubio on Oct. 20 about steps to implement understandings from the Putin–Trump call, after which the meeting was postponed indefinitely.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that a Budapest summit could be relevant at a certain stage but must be preceded by detailed preparatory work.