Counter resource: Trump talks about the summit with Putin in Budapest again
After a meeting with Viktor Orban at the White House, Donald Trump said that he was discussing with the Hungarian Prime Minister the possibility of contacting Vladimir Putin and did not rule out that such a meeting could take place in Budapest. The leaders expressed confidence that the conflict in Ukraine could be resolved "in the not too distant future." In a conversation with Izvestia, Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, expressed hope that the Hungarian Prime Minister's well-known position would be taken with due attention by the US president. Against the background of Washington's statements about the possible resumption of nuclear tests and Moscow's reaction, the topic of strategic stability is also coming to the fore again.
Trump accepts Orban amid sanctions pressure
On November 7, US President Donald Trump received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House. The meeting took place after the postponement of the Russian-American summit, which was supposed to be held in Budapest.
Viktor Orban and Donald Trump
In an interview with Izvestia, Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, expressed hope that the Hungarian Prime Minister's well-known position would be taken with due attention by the US president.
"Maybe the issues of normalizing the situation in Europe, which is related to the current policy of the European Union, will be discussed," the senator said.
Trump, answering questions from reporters at a meeting with Orban at the White House, said that he was discussing with the Hungarian leader the possibility of organizing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The American leader noted that "there is always a chance" for such a contact.
— I would like to leave her in Hungary, in Budapest. This meeting. It turned out that I didn't want to have this meeting because I didn't think anything significant would happen. But if we hold it, I would like it to take place in Budapest," he said.
Trump also confirmed that he was considering granting Hungary an exemption from current US sanctions regarding Russian oil supplies.
— It is really difficult for Hungary to get oil and gas from other regions. As you know, they don't have the advantage of access to the sea. This is a wonderful country, a big country, but it has no sea, no ports, and this creates a serious problem," the American president noted.
The tension is created by the Trump administration's decision last month to include Russian companies Lukoil and Rosneft in the sanctions lists. Both structures have significant assets in Hungary, which, after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, consistently resisted pan-European initiatives to sever energy ties with Russia. The sanctions will come into force on November 21 and will create the risk of a reduction in imports via the Druzhba oil pipeline, which could complicate Hungary's energy balance in the coming months.
The leaders announced similar approaches to the Ukrainian issue. Trump and Orban expressed confidence that the conflict could be resolved "in the not too distant future." The Hungarian Prime Minister, commenting on the differences in positions within Europe, stressed that, in his opinion, Brussels and most European capitals adhere to a different line, whereas "the only peaceful government is the government of the United States and little Hungary."
The Ukrainian settlement
The American president's entourage also recalls Budapest's willingness to maintain channels of communication with both Moscow and Kiev, as well as Orban's desire to build an image of an intermediary, Politico magazine writes. Recall that the summit meeting between Russia and the United States was postponed because the parties could not agree on their positions to achieve a meaningful result on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
At the same time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban plays a special role in promoting dialogue between Moscow and Washington, he remains one of the few European leaders who maintain a pragmatic approach to relations with Russia and advocates diplomatic methods to resolve the conflict, German political scientist Alexander Rahr believes.
"Orban, although criticized in Europe, remains a significant political voice within the European Union and is able to help launch the peace process," the expert noted.
Alexander Rahr believes that a possible summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is only a matter of time. According to him, the meeting could become a reality by the end of this year. The expert noted that in recent weeks, a situation has been developing on the front line in Ukraine, in particular in the Donetsk region and in the area of Krasnoarmeysk (in the Ukrainian version — Pokrovsk), which, in his opinion, indicates that the Ukrainian army is approaching defeat. In this context, Rahr believes, all the prerequisites can be created for the implementation of the negotiation process and the holding of the summit.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said before the meeting between Orban and Trump that preparations for a possible summit of the presidents of Russia and the United States could take several months, as Budapest expects to reach concrete agreements on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, believes that there is a possibility of holding a summit between Russia and the United States, but its implementation is not directly related to the actions of the Hungarian prime minister. According to the expert, it is Russian-American relations that are of key importance in this matter, whereas American-Hungarian contacts are rather auxiliary in nature.
—Donald Trump's activity in relations with Budapest should be considered primarily as an attempt to put pressure on Hungary in order to reduce purchases of Russian energy resources," the expert shared his opinion with Izvestia.
Assessing the prospects for a possible meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States before the end of the year, Bezpalko expressed doubt about its realism. He recalled that the option of holding talks in Budapest had previously been considered, but its implementation raised many questions. In particular, the expert noted that the airspace around Hungary remains unfriendly to Russia, which complicates the organization of such events. At the same time, he stressed that Orban is one of the most loyal leaders of the European Union to Moscow.
Against the background of diplomatic maneuvers in the Ukrainian direction, the discussion of the future security architecture continues in Washington. Special Envoy of the President of the United States Stephen Witkoff noted that the settlement of the conflict remains a difficult task, although there have been some points of progress. According to him, significant work is needed on the issue of Ukrainian security guarantees.
Security policy and nuclear agenda
An additional impetus to the discussions was given by Trump's statement instructing the Pentagon to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons. The American leader did not specify which tests he was referring to. Following this, on November 5, Vladimir Putin instructed the foreign policy and law enforcement agencies to collect and analyze additional information to develop proposals on possible preparations for nuclear tests. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov then stressed that it was not a question of starting such work, but only of assessing the feasibility of their preparation.
As noted by a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Lachlan Mackenzie, if the United States resumes nuclear testing, Russia is likely to take retaliatory steps to prevent Washington's unilateral advantage. According to him, Moscow considers such actions by the United States as a threat to the strategic balance, and possible Russian tests as a retaliatory measure to preserve it.
—The upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump, if it takes place, will address not only the Ukrainian issue, but also the topic of strategic stability and nuclear deterrence," Alexander Rahr notes.
In his opinion, Donald Trump uses statements about building up nuclear capabilities more as an element of diplomatic bargaining than as preparation for a military scenario.
Rahr also noted that unlike European politicians, who, according to him, "often think in terms of confrontation," the American side is focused on finding mutually beneficial agreements.
Bogdan Bezpalko believes that nuclear issues can take a place in future contacts between Moscow and Washington, but only if preliminary agreements are reached. "At the moment, we are not witnessing a movement towards de—escalation, but a continuation of mutual pressure," Bezpalko concluded.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on November 7 that if Washington's statements about the resumption of nuclear tests referred to a direct return to detonating nuclear warheads, then such actions by the United States could provoke extremely negative dynamics and provoke retaliatory steps from other states, including Russia.
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