ROME, October 17. /TASS/. The meeting between the Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, planned in Budapest, is basically a "slap in the face" to the EU, La Repubblica says.
"This is a slap in the face for the old continent," the newspaper writes, pointing out that "European countries will have to grant permission for the presidential plane to fly over their territory, despite sanctions and the International Criminal Court warrant."
The newspaper also believes that the agreement to hold a meeting in the Hungarian capital in the near future, reached following a phone call between Trump and Putin, constitutes "an act of contempt towards Vladimir Zelensky, who is likely to return from his meeting with Trump empty-handed today." Zelensky arrived in the US yesterday. Trump is expected to receive him on October 17.
On October 16, after the phone talk with Putin, Trump said they agreed to meet in the Hungarian capital soon. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that during his conversation with the US leader, Putin warned that Tomahawk missiles would not alter the situation on the battlefield but would significantly damage relations between Russia and the US, not to mention the prospects for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.