On a Thursday in mid-October, the American president stood before the press and sketched a sequence of encounters that might, or might not, bend the long arc of a war now nearing its third winter in Eastern Europe. A telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, which he called productive, has become the hinge for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington and a possible summit in Budapest. Beneath the scheduling lies an older human pattern: leaders summoning one another to tables while those who live under the shelling wait to learn whether words will become ground that holds.
Trump Says He Will 'Make This Number 9' as He Eyes End to Ukraine War, Meets Zelenskyy Friday
A war between Russia and Ukraine, described as running about two and a half years, continues to affect both countries; the article gives no casualty figures.
We have now done 8 wars, and we will make this number 9.
Mark
Why does this particular call matter? Leaders talk all the time.
Mimi
Because it produced a calendar. Zelenskyy at the White House Friday, advisers next week, a possible Putin summit in Budapest within weeks. That's a sequence, not just a statement of goodwill.
Luke
A sequence announced by one side, though. What we have is Trump's account and a White House readout. Nothing from Moscow is in this reporting.
Mark
What did Trump say about the Rubio and Lavrov piece?
Mimi
That Rubio will meet his counterpart Lavrov, and that the initial U.S. delegation will be led by Rubio with others still to be designated. So even the team isn't fully named.
Luke
Which is worth noting. And the Budapest summit is described as likely, not scheduled. No date, no confirmed agenda.
Mark
And the claim about ending eight wars?
Mimi
Trump said eight done, and this would make nine. Putin reportedly congratulated him on the Israel-Hamas situation, per Leavitt.
Luke
That count is Trump's own. The article doesn't verify it, and I'd treat it as his framing, not an established fact. Same for the line about Zelenskyy's relationship with Putin.
Mark
What's missing?
Luke
Terms. Nothing on a ceasefire, territory, or guarantees, and no casualty figures for a war about two and a half years old.
Mimi
So the thing to watch is whether next week's adviser talks produce anything concrete before Budapest.
O Pulso
- A telephone call with Putin on Thursday produced a schedule of meetings that Trump calls productive, though no terms have yet been named.
- Zelenskyy is due at the White House Friday, where Trump says he will be briefed on the Putin conversation.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to lead adviser talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov next week, the first real test of substance.
- A Budapest summit with Putin is floated within weeks, yet the path there depends on whether the advisers can shape a concrete framework.
- The war, now about two and a half years old, continues to press on both nations, and the account offers no figures for the toll.
On a Thursday in mid-October, the American president stood before the press and sketched a sequence of encounters that might, or might not, bend the long arc of a war now nearing its third winter in Eastern Europe. A telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, which he called productive, has become the hinge for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington and a possible summit in Budapest. Beneath the scheduling lies an older human pattern: leaders summoning one another to tables while those who live under the shelling wait to learn whether words will become ground that holds.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump gathered reporters at the White House and laid out a plan that had only just taken shape. Earlier that day he had spoken by phone with Vladimir Putin, and he described the conversation as very productive. From it came a meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, and a likely sit-down with Putin in Budapest within a couple of weeks.
The machinery of diplomacy is meant to begin next week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the first American sessions and meet Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Trump said that only after those talks would he and Putin determine what comes next. The White House echoed his praise, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Putin had congratulated Trump on resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Trump also framed a Ukraine deal as the ninth global conflict he would have resolved, a count that remains his own claim. For now, what exists is a set of announced meetings and American statements. No terms, ceasefire, or concessions have been described, and the war, about two and a half years old, continues to weigh on both countries. The coming days will show whether the advisers' talks produce something solid enough to justify a summit.
On Thursday, local time, President Donald Trump stood before reporters at the White House and laid out a schedule: a meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, and, he said, a likely sit-down with Russia's Vladimir Putin in a couple of weeks. The plan came out of a phone call with Putin earlier the same day.
Trump described that call as very productive. He said he would brief Zelenskyy on it when the two met at the White House. Trump also claimed Zelenskyy has a terrible relationship with Putin, a characterization offered without elaboration in the account of his remarks.
The diplomatic machinery is meant to start moving next week. Trump said in a Truth Social post that he and Putin agreed to a meeting of their high-level advisers. The first U.S. sessions will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with other participants Trump said would be designated later. Speaking to reporters, Trump said Rubio will meet his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister. After that, Trump said, he would meet Putin and the two sides would make a determination.
The venue Trump named for the summit was Budapest, Hungary. In his post he said it would be his second summit with Putin, and that its purpose was to bring an end to what he called the inglorious war in Ukraine. The war has run about two and a half years by the count in the report, which gave no casualty figures.
The White House put out its own readout. It called the Trump-Putin call very good and productive. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that during the conversation Putin congratulated Trump on resolving the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
That reference fits the frame Trump used with reporters. The 79-year-old Republican said that if he ends the Ukraine war, it will be the ninth global conflict he has resolved. He put the current count at eight and said that they would make the number nine. That tally is his own claim, and the report does not independently assess it.
What exists so far is a set of announced meetings and statements from the American side. Nothing in the account describes terms, a ceasefire, or concessions from either Moscow or Kyiv, and the Russian side's description of the call is not included beyond what the White House relayed. The next markers are Friday's White House meeting with Zelenskyy, the adviser talks led by Rubio next week, and whether those sessions yield a concrete framework that justifies a Budapest summit.
Citações Notáveis
Tomorrow I will be meeting with President Zelenskyy and tell him about the call... We have now done 8 wars, and we will make this number 9.— President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House
The call with Putin was very good and productive; Putin congratulated Trump on resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict.— White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (paraphrased)
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em India TV News ↗
Politics & Governance