White House weighs Budapest for possible Trump, Putin, Zelenskyy summit
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The White House is considering Budapest as the site of a potential summit between President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a Trump administration official and another person familiar with the discussions.
The U.S. Secret Service has begun preparing for the possible meeting in Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a longtime Trump ally. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to confirm Budapest, saying Tuesday only that security teams typically evaluate multiple venues.
Budapest has emerged as the administration’s first choice, the people said, though Putin has pushed for Moscow and French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva. Switzerland also offered to host, promising Putin immunity from a war crimes warrant if talks were held there.
For Ukraine, Budapest carries symbolism tied to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which the U.S., the U.K. and Russia guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for its nuclear arsenal. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 rendered that agreement moot when the pledges went unenforced.
The timing of any meeting remains uncertain. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that a bilateral session between Putin and Zelenskyy could take place within weeks. Trump later announced on social media that he intended to join them in a trilateral gathering, after meeting Putin in Alaska last week.
Russian officials have since signaled caution. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on state TV that Moscow would not rule out negotiations but stressed they must unfold “step by step, gradually, starting from the expert level.”
Leavitt said both Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed in principle to meet. “The president has spoken to both leaders about this and both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other,” she said. A trilateral session with Trump could follow.
Meanwhile, U.S. and European military leaders are holding separate talks on security guarantees for Ukraine. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is set to host counterparts from Germany, the U.K., France, Finland and Italy in Washington on Wednesday. NATO’s 32 defense chiefs will also meet virtually the same day.
The series of consultations highlights the challenges facing Western allies as they consider sending a peacekeeping force to Ukraine and expanding arms deliveries.
“It’s a positive that the U.S. confirmed it will play a role in security guarantees,” said a European official who attended the White House talks, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But until all the modalities are worked out, it’s very hard to know how far they’re willing to go.”
