Kremlin Begins Immediate Preparations for Putin-Trump Summit Following Productive Phone Call

Both presidents had a previous encounter in Alaska during August, though that meeting failed to yield any significant diplomatic progress.

On Thursday, the Kremlin announced it would begin "immediate" preparations for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump following what was described as an "extremely frank and trustful" telephone conversation between the two leaders.

Putin's senior aide, Yuri Ushakov, informed journalists: "Representatives of both nations will start organizing the summit immediately, with Budapest being considered as a potential venue."

Ushakov emphasized the quality of the discussion, noting: "The conversation was highly substantive, while simultaneously being extremely frank and trustful." He also mentioned that Russia had initiated the phone call.