Press Secretary: Trump to discuss with Zelenskyy opportunity of meeting with Putin in Budapest
U.S. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reported Donald Trump's intention to discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a possible meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest, about which they reached a preliminary agreement during a call on Thursday.
"President [Trump] and President Putin discussed meeting together in Budapest. And President Trump will talk about that opportunity with President Zelenskyy when he is here, at the White House," Leavitt told reporters in Washington on Friday.
As reported, Trump and Putin had a call on Thursday that lasted two and a half hours. After the talks, Trump said that the countries would hold high-level talks next week, followed by a leaders' meeting in Budapest. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that he would guarantee Putin's unhindered access to Budapest, where he is scheduled to meet Trump.
Head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak said on the same day that Zelenskyy was ready to meet Putin in any format and in any country in the world, except for Russia and Belarus.
Zelenskyy arrived in Washington and has already held a number of meetings with senior U.S. officials. He is scheduled to meet Trump on Friday.