It seems Trump has not despaired of persuading Putin to end the war in Ukraine, holding out hope that he can bring an end to what he calls the world’s ninth international conflict. In Trump’s mind, this is not merely diplomacy but destiny — the chance to be remembered as the global peacemaker the Nobel Committee “missed”, a man capable of ending the war in Ukraine and reshaping Europe’s future. Trump is therefore preparing for yet another meeting with Putin — this time in Budapest, Hungary.
The symbolism of Budapest is impossible to ignore. It was there, in 1994, that Russia signed the Budapest Memorandum, pledging to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for Kyiv giving up its nuclear weapons. That promise was broken when Putin invaded Crimea in 2014 and shattered entirely with the full-scale invasion in 2022. Now, more than three decades later, Trump wants to convene a peace summit in the very city where Ukraine once placed its faith in written guarantees. Trump announced the upcoming meeting after a lengthy phone call with Putin on the eve of his tense encounter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. What has unfolded over those two days reveals just how wide the gap remains between Trump’s vision of a deal and Ukraine’s determination to resist.
According to Reuters, the meeting between Trump and Zelensky on 17 October was fraught. Citing multiple sources briefed on the discussion, the report describes Trump urging Zelensky to cede swaths of territory to Russia in exchange for a ceasefire. When the Ukrainian president refused, Trump pivoted, proposing that both sides simply “stop at the lines where they are” — effectively freezing the war on Moscow’s terms. Trump also refused to provide Kyiv with the long-range Tomahawk missiles it had requested and mused about giving “security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow”, remarks that, according to the Reuters sources, left the Ukrainian delegation “confused and disappointed”.
At one point, Trump reportedly told Zelensky that his country faced destruction if it refused to compromise — comments that aides later softened but did not deny. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who was present at the meeting, pressed the Ukrainian side on the possibility of a territorial swap, arguing that the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, heavily Russian-speaking, could be traded for smaller portions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. For Ukraine, that suggestion bordered on betrayal. One source told Reuters that conceding western Donetsk and Luhansk would amount to “suicide”, as it would expose much of the country to future attacks.
The following day, Trump publicly outlined his stance while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One. “We think that what they should do is just stop at the battle lines,” he said. “The rest is very tough to negotiate.” When asked whether he had told Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas, Trump replied, “let it be cut the way it is. It’s cut up right now.”
That phrasing closely mirrored what The Washington Post reported the news — that during his phone call with Putin, the Russian leader had demanded that Ukraine should surrender Donetsk outright as part of a proposed peace plan. Citing senior officials, the newspaper described Putin’s request as uncompromising: full control of Donetsk in exchange for partial withdrawals from other occupied territories. Trump, who has long prided himself on his ability to read people, reportedly acknowledged that Putin “might be playing” him but insisted that he “usually comes out of these things pretty well.”
Such boldness is familiar to Trump watchers, yet it raises the question of whether the US president is being subtly manipulated. Both The Washington Post and Reuters accounts suggest that Putin’s influence loomed large over Trump’s meeting with Zelensky. In fact, several officials told Reuters that American talking points during the White House meeting seemed “lifted directly” from the Kremlin’s own proposals.
Trump’s supporters argue that this is precisely what makes him effective — his willingness to engage adversaries and push unconventional solutions. His critics, however, see a pattern of misplaced faith in Putin’s word. The Alaska Summit in August produced no progress, and now, even Trump’s allies concede that the Budapest meeting may end in the same way. But for Trump, failure has never been final; it is only the next stage of negotiation.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s role as host adds yet another layer of complexity. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Europe’s most pro-Russian leaders, has eagerly embraced the chance to host the talks. To Orban, it is a validation of his long-standing claim that “peace can only come through dialogue.” To many in Brussels, it is a reminder of how far Hungary has drifted from the European mainstream — and how much this summit risks legitimising Moscow’s aggression.
For Zelensky, it was painful. He came to Washington hoping for Tomahawk missiles and left with only talk of demarcation lines. His expression during the post-meeting photo told the story. “We are still standing,” he later told Ukrainian reporters. “But we need actions, not lines.”
Behind closed doors, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been tasked with preparing the Budapest agenda in coordination with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Whether the summit itself produces a ceasefire, or merely another photo opportunity, remains uncertain.
The broader question is whether Trump’s instinct for deal-making can overcome the realities of war. His call for a freeze along current frontlines may sound pragmatic, but it effectively rewards Russia. European diplomats warn that such an arrangement could destroy what remains of the postwar order built on territorial integrity.
Still, Trump appears convinced that the world needs his brand of diplomacy. “Everybody wins when there’s peace,” he told reporters. “And I know how to get it.” The problem, as his critics see it, is that Putin knows how to get what he wants, too — often by convincing others that peace on his terms is the only option.
Thirty years after the first Budapest promises were made, the same city may soon host new ones — this time brokered by the man who believes he alone can rewrite history. Whether Trump emerges as the statesman he envisions himself to be or as the president who let himself be played depends on how this fragile diplomacy unfolds in the coming weeks. For now, the world waits, watching a familiar drama return to a familiar stage.
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