MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump will begin with a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.

"I have already said that the presidents [of Russia and the US] agreed that representatives of the two countries would begin preparations for the summit. This work will, of course, start with a phone call between Secretary of State Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov," Ushakov said.

The previous meeting between the two leaders took place on August 15 at a military base in Alaska. The talks lasted about three hours in several formats, including a one-on-one conversation in the US president’s limousine en route to the main venue, followed by a narrower three-on-three meeting. Ushakov and Lavrov took part in the discussions on the Russian side, while Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff represented the United States.