US administration is under too many illusions that Putin is in any mood for peace - MEP Ijabs

  • 2025-10-17
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The US administration is still under the illusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in any mood for peace at all, said Ivars Ijabs (For Latvia's Development), a member of the European Parliament (MEP), in an interview with Latvian Radio.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the tone and attitude of the US administration and President Donald Trump towards Russia's war in Ukraine has changed over time and that there is now a better understanding than there was, for example, six months ago.

Asked which world leaders Trump could agree with and who could be on his side when trying to find a solution to the situation in Ukraine, the MEP replied that Trump actually has the whole of Europe on his side, which is the most directly affected by this war and at the same time is aware that it cannot manage on its own without the help of the United States.

Asked to comment on the choice of Hungary as the venue for the meeting between Trump and Putin, which is hosted by the Kremlin-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Ijabs said that this looked like an unfortunate choice, but it should be remembered that Trump has difficult personal relations with the leaders of many European countries.

However, regardless of the location of the meeting, the content and the outcome will be key, Ijabs believes. "I think that [Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelensky, given his posture and position, will have no problem going to Budapest as well. The question is whether there is a result there, whether the Ukrainian interests are really not in any way significantly harmed in these talks," the politician commented.

The AFP news agency reports that US President Donald Trump said he would meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Hungary after a "very productive" call Thursday, and questioned Kyiv's push for Tomahawk missiles just a day before hosting Ukraine's leader at the White House.

In his latest abrupt pivot on Russia's 2022 invasion, Trump said he expected to meet Putin in Budapest within the next two weeks for what would be their second summit since the American's return to power.

The Kremlin welcomed the "extremely frank and trustful" call and said it was immediately preparing for the summit.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that the threat of Tomahawks had pushed Moscow to negotiate, even as he deals with yet another Trump shift on the war.

"I believe great progress was made with today's telephone conversation," Trump said on his Truth Social network, saying he and Putin would meet to "see if we can bring this 'inglorious' War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end."

The 79-year-old Republican later told reporters in the Oval Office that the call was "very productive" and that he expected to meet "within two weeks or so, pretty quick."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will swiftly meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to sort out summit details, Trump added.