By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to another summit to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, a surprise move that came as Moscow feared fresh U.S. military support for Kyiv.
Trump said he and Putin could meet within the next two weeks in Budapest after a more than two-hour phone call Trump described as productive. The Kremlin confirmed plans for such a meeting, though neither side provided a date for when it would occur.
"My whole life, I've made deals," Trump told reporters later at the White House. "I think we're going to have this one done, hopefully soon."
ZELENSKIY TO WHITE HOUSE FRIDAY
The development came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was headed to the White House on Friday to push for more military support, potentially including U.S.-made long-range Tomahawk missiles.
Trump had seemed in recent days to be leaning toward granting Zelenskiy fresh support. Yet Trump's conciliatory tone following the Russia call appeared to leave in question the possibility of such support in the near term and revived European fears of U.S. capitulation to Moscow.
Since taking office in January, Trump has regularly threatened action against Russia, only to delay those steps after talks with Putin. Trump sought a ceasefire ahead of an Alaska summit with Putin in August that produced none. At the time, some analysts said Putin pocketed U.S. concessions with no intent to end the war anytime soon.
The Republican president has positioned himself as a peacemaker and diplomat, touting achievements including the recent Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. He has said he thought the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion in 2022, would have been easier to end due to his relationship with Putin.
PUTIN WARNS TRUMP ABOUT SUPPLYING MISSILES
During the call, Putin told Trump that supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine would harm the peace process and damage U.S.-Russia ties, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Zelenskiy, who is already in Washington, said Putin's decision to seek talks was a sign that he was on the defensive.
"We expect that the momentum of curbing terror and war that succeeded in the Middle East will help to end Russia’s war against Ukraine," he said on X. "We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks."
The meeting location for another Trump-Putin summit has drawn attention. Putin is wanted for alleged war crimes in some jurisdictions, restricting his travel.
Ukraine's relationship with Hungary has grown increasingly tense. Zelenskiy accused Hungarian drones of crossing into Ukraine last month, prompting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to retort that Ukraine was not an independent sovereign state.
In contrast to most NATO and European Union leaders, Orban has maintained cordial relations with Russia while questioning the logic of Western military aid for Kyiv, a stance that has frequently put him at odds with Zelenskiy.
"The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is great news for the peace-loving people of the world," Orban said on X. "We are ready!"
He later said he had spoken by phone with Trump and that preparations for a U.S.-Russia peace summit were under way.
The Trump-Putin meeting will follow lower-level talks between Moscow and Washington next week, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a location to be determined, Trump said. The Kremlin said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would take part.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would brief Zelenskiy on the Russia talks in the Oval Office on Friday.
"I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation," he added.
UKRAINE WANTS TO EXPAND ATTACK RANGE
Kyiv and Moscow have been escalating their war with massive attacks on energy infrastructure while NATO struggles to respond to a spate of Russian air incursions.
Ukraine has been seeking missiles that would put Moscow and other major Russian cities within its range of fire.
Before Thursday, Trump had expressed increasing frustration with Putin over ongoing attacks. Trump has said he could supply the long-range weapons to Ukraine if Putin fails to come to the negotiating table.
In its latest barrage, Russia launched more than 300 drones and 37 missiles to target infrastructure across Ukraine in overnight attacks on Thursday, Zelenskiy said. Kyiv has ramped up its own attacks on Russian targets, including an oil refinery in the Saratov region on Thursday.
Russia has been hitting Ukraine's energy and power facilities for consecutive winters as the war drags into its fourth year.
In the latest warnings to Russia, Trump said on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged to stop buying oil from Russia, and that the administration would push China to do the same. India has not confirmed any such commitment.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto, Anita Komuves in Budapest and Anastasia Lyrchikova in Moscow; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Colleen Jenkins and Rod Nickel)
