According to Russian leader's aide Yuriy Ushakov, the phone conversation between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump was initiated by the Russian side. Putin informed Trump about the alleged strategic initiative of Russian troops along the entire front line and emphasized that the use of "Tomahawks" could spoil relations between America and Russia. This is reported by UNN with reference to Russian media.
Details
As the publication notes, Putin initiated a conversation with the US President and told Trump that Russian troops "fully possess the strategic initiative along the entire contact line in their own." At the same time, the Russian dictator, in a conversation with the American president, stated that "Tomahawks" will not change the situation on the battlefield, but will harm relations between Russia and the United States and the settlement in Ukraine."
Also, according to Ushakov, Putin and Trump mentioned "mutual sympathies of the peoples of Russia and the United States" in the conversation and called the current relations between the two countries "paradoxical." Along with this, the leaders of the United States emphasized the need for "the earliest possible peace in Ukraine" and noted that this is "the most difficult conflict to resolve."
Budapest as a meeting place, as indicated, was proposed by Trump, and Putin, in turn, supported the proposal.
Recall
US President Donald Trump announced that a high-level meeting between US and Russian teams will take place next week. He also stated that he would meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in an agreed location, Budapest, Hungary, to discuss the possibility of ending this "inglorious" war between Russia and Ukraine.