WASHINGTON, October 17. /TASS/. The upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Hungary may help the sides not only to come to terms on Ukraine, but also open new opportunities for bilateral trade, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US branch of the International Sister Cities Association Bill Boerum told TASS.
"My confidence is restored that a meeting between the Presidents - who share a mutual respect for each other - will put negotiations back on track to resolve the situation in Ukraine," he said.
Boerum belives that "the understandings of Russia’s security concerns reached during the Alaska visit of President Putin were necessary." At the same time, in his opinion, "the concerns were challenging with respect to the expectations of the several interested parties" with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.
He expressed hope that "importantly, progress can be made on other issues" between Russia and the United States. "The US wants alternative sources of supply and Russia, I believe wants more markets," he explained.
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.
The previous meeting between the two leaders took place on August 15 at a military base near Anchorage, 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.