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CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM: Secretary Rubio and Russian FM Lavrov Hold ‘Constructive’ Phone Call To Prepare Upcoming Trump-Putin Meeting in Hungary

Russia’s Lavrov (left) and Secretary Rubio (right) are preparing the Budapest Summit.

Serious work is afoot to build peace and prosperity.

Preparation work is underway for the upcoming summit between US President Donald J. Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Today (20), a high-level phone call was held between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Russian side characterized the call as ‘constructive’, and from US officials the same cautious optimism was expressed.

Reuters reported:

“Putin and Trump agreed in a phone call last Thursday to meet soon in Budapest, Hungary for their second summit this year, and the two sides said Lavrov and Rubio would speak to prepare the meeting.

‘A constructive discussion took place regarding possible concrete steps to implement the understandings reached during the October 16 telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump’, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.”

The Budapest meeting aims to build on the successes of the Alaska summit.

The State Department press-release (attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott):

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss next steps following the October 16 call between President Trump and President Putin.  The Secretary emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump’s vision.”

The Russian Embassy in USA on X:

“On October 20, 2025 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The parties engaged in a constructive discussion focusing on possible specific steps to implement the understandings reached during President Vladimir Putin’s October 16, 2025 telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump.”

Read more:

BREAKING: Peace Process Is Back in Motion, as Trump To Meet Russia’s Putin in Hungary To Negotiate an End to the War in Ukraine

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