Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced the start of preparations for a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest. He held talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
US Vice President J. D. Vance stated on October 16 that Russia and Ukraine are currently not ready to conclude an agreement, despite diplomatic efforts. He noted that a settlement is still possible but requires significant work, and that tariffs are more effective than sanctions in influencing Russia.
US President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington at 1:00 PM local time. After that, a bilateral lunch is expected to take place at 1:15 PM.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said the US president believes a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is still possible. Trump seeks to promote peace in Ukraine, and Putin intends to meet with him.
US President Trump stated that the US and Israel will intervene if Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza. This was not part of the agreement, and they will have no choice but to intervene.
The Ukrainian delegation, led by Andriy Yermak, met with Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, to coordinate priorities before the meeting of the presidents of Ukraine and the United States. Issues of military cooperation, sanctions against the Russian Federation, and the return of deported children were discussed.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere has increased the most in over 50 years of observations, with a sharp jump in CO2 recorded between 2023 and 2024. The main reasons are the burning of fossil fuels and large-scale forest fires, which exacerbate extreme weather events.
The Ukrainian delegation met with US Congressman French Hill, who stated that the current sanctions are not enough to destroy the Russian economy. He supported the idea of a loan to Ukraine for the purchase of weapons with the involvement of frozen Russian assets.
