Overview
- After a prolonged phone call on Oct. 16, both sides agreed to prepare a new leaders’ meeting, with Budapest cited as a possible venue and Trump saying it could occur within the next two weeks.
- Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said preparations would begin immediately with senior-level contacts, naming a planned call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
- Trump stated the United States needs its Tomahawk missiles, and experts quoted by TASS assessed that the conversation effectively takes potential Tomahawk transfers to Ukraine off the table for now.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington for an Oct. 17 meeting with Trump, with Axios and Newsweek reporting his team was surprised by the summit announcement and that it overshadowed his visit and weapons requests.
- Trump said he may meet Putin and Zelensky separately given their poor relations, while Ushakov relayed that Putin told Trump Russia holds the strategic initiative along the front and that renewed talks, possibly using the Istanbul format, could be explored.