Did Trump’s Tomahawk missile threat push Putin to ring Trump? US, Russian Presidents to meet in Budapest

US President Donald Trump has revealed that he and Russian President  Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary, for discussions  aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. The announcement followed what  Trump described as a “lengthy and productive” phone conversation with the Russian leader, lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours.

The call, reportedly initiated at Moscow’s request, came just a day before Trump was due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington. According to Trump, senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will meet their Russian counterparts next week to lay the groundwork for the proposed summit. However, no date has yet been confirmed for the meeting between Trump and Putin.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said the summit would be hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, with the aim of ending what he described as the “inglorious war” between Russia and Ukraine. Trump said he believes his recent diplomatic success in brokering a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza could help catalyse progress on the Eastern European front.

“We hope we’re going to get it stopped,” Trump said, referring to the Ukraine conflict. “Because of my relationship with President Putin, I thought this would be very quick. Who would think I did the Middle East before I did this?”

Trump’s call with Putin appears to have altered his stance on arming Ukraine, particularly regarding the potential delivery of Tomahawk missiles – a move that had previously been under consideration. While Trump had been signalling a willingness to provide Ukraine with the powerful long-range weapons, he expressed second thoughts following his conversation with Putin.

“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America, too,” Trump told reporters, adding that Putin had raised concerns about the weapons during their call. “Tomahawk is a vicious weapon. It’s a vicious, offensive, incredibly destructive weapon. Nobody wants Tomahawks shot at them.”

Ukrainian President Zelensky, speaking in Washington, interpreted the renewed dialogue between Trump and Putin as a sign of Russian unease. “We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks,” Zelensky said, referencing Trump’s earlier comments on supplying the missiles to Kyiv.

Critics of Trump’s approach argue that his repeated willingness to engage with Putin—without extracting concrete concessions—has only emboldened the Russian leader. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticised the decision to reward Putin with a summit after months of failing to take decisive action. “President Trump is repeating the mistakes of the past by not arming Ukraine to the teeth and letting them win this war.”

This is not the first time Trump has appeared to back away from punitive measures against Russia after engaging directly with Putin. Earlier in the year, he accused Putin of dangerous escalation and floated the possibility of sanctions, only to later delay action while claiming to assess Putin’s willingness to negotiate.

Two months ago, Trump set another deadline for Russia to end the war, threatening consequences. But he soon held a summit with Putin in Alaska and declared progress had been made. However, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has continued largely unabated, with little evidence of a serious commitment to peace.

Despite these setbacks, Trump remains confident that diplomacy is the best route forward. He told reporters that Putin had congratulated him on his efforts in the Middle East and expressed appreciation for the work of Trump’s wife, Melania. The First Lady has reportedly been involved in discussions with Russian officials to reunite Ukrainian children separated from their families during the war. Trump said Russia had recently allowed eight children to return home following Melania’s efforts.

“He was very appreciative and said that this will continue,” Trump noted. Trump also stated that he and Putin spent “a great deal of time” discussing future trade relations between the US and Russia, conditional on the conclusion of the war.

The proposed summit in Budapest would mark the first time Putin has set foot in a European Union capital since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. One major reason is the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes. However, Hungary has recently announced plans to withdraw from the ICC, a move that would allow Putin to travel to Budapest without fear of arrest.

Putin will find a warm welcome in Hungary, where Prime Minister Orbán has long positioned himself as an ally of both the Russian and the former US president. Orbán, who visited Putin in Moscow last year to the dismay of EU partners, faces a tough re-election battle next spring and may view hosting the summit as a political coup.

“The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is great news for the peace-loving people of the world. We are ready!” Orbán said. He confirmed that preparations for the summit were underway following a phone call with Trump.

Yuri Ushakov, a senior aide to Putin, told Russian news agencies that officials from both countries would meet “without delay” to prepare for the summit.

When asked about Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s plans to push forward bipartisan sanctions against Russia, Trump cautioned against poor timing, saying, “This may be such a productive call that we’re going to end up, we want to get peace. We want to stop the killing.” “I’m not against anything,” he added. “I’m just saying, it may not be perfect timing.”

 

World