On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump had one of their longest telephone calls since early 2025. Following the conversation, Trump announced his plans to meet with Putin in Budapest and said Rubio was arranging his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Trump was the first to suggest Budapest as a potential location for a Russia-US summit and Putin supported the idea, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.
The Washington Post did not name the exact location of Rubio's meeting with Russian representatives.
Russia has repeatedly said that it will cope with the sanctions pressure and has accused the West of lacking the courage to admit the failure of its sanctions policy. Some Western officials have criticized the sanctions for being ineffective. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy.