The heads of diplomacy of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and the United States, Marco Rubio, discussed by telephone this Monday the preparations for the summit that will bring together in Budapest the presidents of both countries, the Russian Vladimir Putin and the American Donald Trump.
“A constructive debate took place on possible concrete steps to carry out the understandings reached during the telephone conversation held on October 16” between Putin and Trump, in which it was agreed to hold the Budapest meeting, says a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Next, Lavrov and Rubio will meet to specify the agenda and date of the summit, which should take place within approximately two weeks, according to Trump.
In the dialogue with his Russian counterpart, Rubio “emphasized the importance of the upcoming meetings as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate in advancing a lasting solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine, in line with President Trump’s vision,” according to a brief statement from the State Department.
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, admitted today that it is unknown where the meeting between the Russian Foreign Minister and the American Secretary of State will take place, who last met in mid-August in Alaska.
“The most important thing now is to convey to Americans that Anchorage (Alaska’s capital) established the framework in which we must work. We have no other alternative: we must base all our efforts on what was established and formulated by the presidents,” he said.
Precisely, both Ukraine and the European Union consider that the Alaska summit served to gain Putin time and fear that the same script will be repeated in Budapest.
The Kremlin denied today that Russia has changed its position regarding its main demands: Putin demands that kyiv withdraw its troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow and renounce membership in NATO, before starting negotiations.
The international press reported that Putin was willing last Thursday in the telephone conversation with Trump to stop advancing in the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia if kyiv ordered the withdrawal of its troops in Donbas (Donetsk and Lugansk).
“The position of Russia and President Putin is consistent and well known,” replied Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman, in his daily telephone press conference.
Moscow and kyiv disagree in that the former wants to agree on a roadmap for peace before declaring a ceasefire, while the latter demands that the fighting first cease and then address in depth the conditions for a definitive agreement.
