President Trump will announce whether he will meet Mr. Putin or not in the next 2 days.
The US President said he did not say that the meeting with the Russian President would be a waste of time.
According to TASS news agency on October 22, at a press conference at the White House on October 21 (Washington time), US President Donald Trump said that the decision on whether to hold the Russia-US summit in Budapest (Hungary) or not may be made in the next few days.
At the press conference, President Trump was asked to clarify the reason behind his comment, made in the context of a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that the US leader did not want to "waste time".
"I didn't say anything. I didn't say it was a waste of time," the White House chief replied, adding that "there's a lot going on on that front."
"We will update you on our moves over the next two days. There's a lot going on," President Trump stressed.
Mr Trump also claimed that the conflict in Ukraine could have ended in World War III, but would now be resolved because both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Zelensky wanted it that way. He asserted that the conflict in Ukraine does not affect the US because it is taking place abroad, without the involvement of the US military.
Meanwhile, a White House official said on October 21 that President Trump currently has no plans to meet privately with President Putin.
Kirill Dmitriev, Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and special representative of the Russian President for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, while commenting on media reports about the upcoming Russia-US summit in Hungary, said that preparations for the event are underway.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin had a phone call with his US counterpart to discuss the situation in Ukraine. After the call, President Donald Trump announced plans to meet the Russian President in Budapest.
The day after the phone call, the US President met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington. Axios noted that the negotiations were tense, with Mr. Trump appearing tough. A source said the meeting "did not go well." Mr. Zelensky was forced to hold a press conference outside the White House.
