Rubio and Lavrov discuss next Putin-Trump summit, Zelensky seeks invite

US and Russia make plans for Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump to meet in Budapest following talks in Alaska in August

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, in August. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:17am, 21 Oct 2025Updated: 4:01pm, 21 Oct 2025

Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed preparations for a coming summit in Hungary between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in a call on Monday, both sides said.

Rubio “emphasised the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war”, Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesman for the US State Department, said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that he was ready to join if invited, but neither Moscow nor Washington mentioned Zelensky in their statements.

The Kremlin said earlier it had “no details” about whether Zelensky would attend.

Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s three-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled since Trump and Putin met for peace talks in Alaska in August.

The two announced last week that they would meet in Budapest for a second round of talks but it was not clear whether Zelensky – who was shut out from the previous meeting – would attend.

US President Donald Trump speaking with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via AFP

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