WASHINGTON, October 17. /TASS/. The presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, have demonstrated clear intention to promote Ukrainian settlement and prevent the Russian-US relations from escalating, said Mark Episkopos, a research fellow in the US Quincy Institute’s Eurasia Program said.
"Today's phone call demonstrates a clear intention by Presidents Trump and Putin not just to move the peace process forward but to avert going down an escalatory spiral that would foreclose the possibility of continued dialogue both on Ukraine as well as a wide range of strategic, political, and economic issues in the bilateral US-Russia relationship that can be discussed during and after a peace settlement," he told TASS.
In his opinion, "there appears to be an understanding between the Kremlin and the White House around the outlines of what a peace deal should entail, but work remains to be done between Russia, Ukraine, and the US on establishing a roadmap to implementation [of a peace agreement]."
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov confirmed that Moscow and Washington would "without delay" begin preparations for the meeting, which may be held in Budapest. He described this as "a truly significant moment." Preparations will start in the next few days, with a phone conversation between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.