Russian President Vladimir Putin uses binoculars to observe the Tsentr-2019 military exercise in the Donguz Mountains near the city of Orenburg on September 20, 2019.
Alexey Nikolsky | Afp | Getty Images
Russia was an indirect beneficiary of the Gaza war as it distracted the United States and other Western countries from their ongoing war in Ukraine.
But now that there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a nascent peace process has begun, US President Donald Trump is turning his attention to ending the war in Ukraine.
The president said Thursday that he and other “senior advisers” will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss how to end the war. This came following a phone call with the two leaders in which Trump said Putin had congratulated him on the “great achievement of peace in the Middle East.”
“President Putin and I will then meet at an agreed location, Budapest, Hungary, to see whether we can end this “inglorious” war between Russia and Ukraine. … I believe that great progress was made with today’s call,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The meeting will be the second time the leaders have met in person during Trump’s second term in office and could take place within the next two weeks, according to the US president.
Tomahawk missiles
One way the White House is pressuring Moscow is to consider the possibility of supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, with the leaders expected to discuss the matter.
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that he could use the Tomahawk missiles as leverage against Russia, saying he could tell Putin: “Look: If this war doesn’t get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.”
In another sign that the administration may be ready to step up its military support for Kiev, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised Wednesday that “firepower” would be coming for Ukraine, although he did not mention the Tomahawks by name.
Another push for peace
Trump made no secret this week that he and his envoys planned to immediately restart efforts to end the war in Ukraine as it approaches its fourth anniversary.
As Trump celebrated a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel on Monday, he addressed Israeli lawmakers and told the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, “We have to bring Russia to closure.”
“Steve, let’s focus on Russia first, okay? We’ll get there.” [done]” said Trump in an address to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
After boasting before his second term that he could end the war in Ukraine in just “a day,” he acknowledged that it had proven more difficult than he expected, remarking, “I thought it would be easy to sort out. I thought it would be a lot easier than doing what we just did.” [in Gaza].”
Victoria Coates, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Davis Institute, told CNBC this week that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will likely have an impact on the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The momentum behind resolving the Gaza conflict can help resolve the Ukraine war,” Coates, deputy national security adviser in Trump’s first administration, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday.
“All these other countries that the president has met with [this week]and to get them behind the conflict resolution, [can lead to] Maybe put some pressure on Putin to come to the negotiating table. So this can have a positive impact on Ukraine,” she said.
The big question now, of course, is whether Russia is willing to play along with Trump and his team.
Will Moscow play along?
The Kremlin appears keen to show its willingness to work towards ending the conflict, although critics (not least Ukraine) say Russia is adept at using delaying tactics to prolong the war for territorial gains.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin reiterated Russia’s position, vehemently disputed by Kiev and its Western allies, that it was Ukraine’s intransigence that prevented an end to the war Russia started in February 2022.
“Of course, we welcome such intentions, we welcome the confirmation of the political will to support the search for peaceful solutions in every possible way,” Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday in a statement reported by Interfax.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a summit of heads of states that are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), October 8, 2024 in Moscow, Russia.
Sergei Ilnitsky | Via Reuters
Russia “remains open and ready for a peace dialogue,” Peskov said, adding: “We hope that the influence of the United States and the diplomatic prowess of President Trump’s envoys will certainly help push the Ukrainian side toward greater willingness for a peace process.”
CNBC has asked the Kremlin for further comment on its expectations for renewed talks with the US and is awaiting a response.
Calling Putin’s bluff
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin before a joint news conference following their meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., Aug. 15, 2025.
Gavriil Grigorov | Via Reuters
Aside from touting the prospect of giving tomahawks to Ukraine – something the Kremlin acknowledged last Sunday as “extremely worrying” – Trump is putting pressure on Russia’s allies by imposing tariffs on India for purchases of Russian oil.
Trump, who recently denounced Russia as a “paper tiger,” has also repeatedly threatened to impose further sanctions on Russia itself, but has so far held back, disappointing Kiev and other Western partners.
According to Peter Dickinson, editor of the Atlantic Council think tank’s Ukraine Alert, the Tomahawk talks could be a turning point for Russia. Dickinson said Tuesday that this will be the case if Trump is willing to call Putin’s bluff by promising to deliver tomahawks, regardless of whether he ultimately does so.
“Trump must now decide whether he wants to call Putin’s bluff and arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. There are increasing signs that he may be inclined to do so,” Dickinson said.
“Trump now has an opportunity to convince his Russian counterpart that he is not as easily intimidated as other Western leaders and is more than willing to increase pressure on Moscow until Putin agrees to pursue peace,” he said in an online analysis.
“Many of Trump’s critics will undoubtedly scoff at the idea of the US president taking such a hardline stance against Putin, but few objective observers would question that this approach is the only way to end the war,” he said.