Putin vs. Trump in Budapest: Who’s Walking into the Snare?
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk to a joint news conference following their meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
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In Budapest, Trump plans to press Putin on when he intends to end the war — and only then decide on the Tomahawks. From Trump’s tower, it looks logical: scare, provoke a reaction, and leave a trail of uncertainty in his wake.
The threat of Tomahawks signals that the time limit Putin negotiated for Trump’s stay in Alaska has expired. At that time, Putin was painting a picture of breakthroughs on the front — advancing to the borders of the Donetsk region and forcing Ukrainian surrender. It didn’t happen (and I maintain that the foundation of Ukraine’s subjectivity lies in its Armed Forces).
Time is up. Trump has no Nobel. The campaign is starting in the United States. The White House wants to flex its muscles at China.
Why Budapest? Because Trump wants the honors that Orbán — himself a sycophant — will arrange for him. He’s desperate to bolster his image ahead of the spring election. But Orbán will roll out the red carpet, and Putin? That’s guaranteed. A kind of “European Yanukovych” eager to serve not one or two, but three masters. And yet, even that won’t be enough.
After all, there may be a slight silver lining in Trump’s latest conversation with Putin for us — Russia might (for now) hold off on pressing energy issues in the coming days. That said, Putin’s promises to prepare for the Budapest summit are not yet a final commitment. The “grandfather” could simply claim to be ill, while Trump waits patiently for his consent. So far, only meetings of “high-level” delegations have been confirmed.
The upcoming Trump–Xi meeting at the end of October will be far more decisive. Its timing remains uncertain, however, because it is difficult for Trump to negotiate with China while Putin keeps spinning unpredictably underfoot.
It seems Trump still clings to the illusion of pulling Moscow away from Beijing. And if reports of Putin’s proposal to conclude a deal on rare earth minerals are accurate, this could once again mislead Trump. In reality, it might be far easier to strike an agreement with Beijing to jointly exploit this “raw material cow” to exhaustion.
A summary before Trump met with Zelenskyy: Putin has been granted another 2–3 weeks (or perhaps 2–3 months) — time he will likely use to try to undermine the White House’s effort to shift the U.S. strategy toward “showing force” against Russia.
We’ve seen this pattern before.
But Trump now needs results, not just the process. Buoyed by his Middle East decisions, he aims to add another star to his political record — especially with the congressional election campaign looming and the need for a striking start.
The key, of course, is to avoid a Budapest-style misstep like the one in Alaska.
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