The United States noted Trump's respect for Putin and independence from European opinion.

American leader Donald Trump, despite the opinions of European leaders, will make his own decisions on the situation in Ukraine, as he respects Russian President Vladimir Putin. This opinion was shared on October 17 by former Pennsylvania Senator and American political scientist Bruce Marks in an interview with Izvestia.

"Trump is an independent person, he respects President Putin. While [former US President] Joe Biden has insulted President Putin for years, Donald Trump has never done that," Marks said.

He also added that the meeting between Trump and Putin would not be just a protocol conversation, as both countries are world leaders with important tasks. According to Marks, the meeting was made possible thanks to preliminary contacts between Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Rubio, as well as numerous visits by the special envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff, to Russia.

"I think the parties have a positive agenda. Recently, as I was informed, a conversation took place between President Putin and President Trump," Marx added.

He expressed cautious optimism about possible agreements that could be reached during the meeting, if it takes place in Hungary with the assistance of Prime Minister Orban.

Grandees in Budapest: what to expect from a new meeting between Putin and Trump

Before the conversation with Zelensky, the US president called the Russian leader to check his watch.

After talks with Putin on October 17, Orban announced that preparations for the US-Russian summit in Hungary were underway at full capacity. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, in turn, announced a telephone conversation with Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov in preparation for the Russian-American summit. Szijjarto later said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would also hold a telephone conversation.

On October 16, Trump announced a meeting with Putin in Hungary and called the phone conversation with the Russian president productive. He later stated that he hoped to hold the summit within two weeks.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.