Politico Reports White House Considering Budapest
as Venue for Trilateral Summit on Ukraine War
On August 19 (local time), the U.S. political media outlet Politico reported that the White House is considering Budapest, Hungary as the venue for a trilateral summit between the leaders of the United States, Russia, and Ukraine to end the war in Ukraine.
According to the report, the U.S. Secret Service (SS) has begun preparations in anticipation of the possibility of hosting the trilateral summit, and Budapest is being discussed as a leading candidate. Hungary, whose capital is Budapest, is currently led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has maintained close ties with President Trump since his first term in office.
The Secret Service is also considering several other locations besides Budapest, and the final venue for the trilateral summit may change. However, it has been reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin prefers Moscow, while French President Emmanuel Macron favors Geneva, Switzerland.
From Ukraine's perspective, Budapest could be the worst possible choice for hosting the trilateral summit, and it is likely to avoid it. In 1994, Ukraine signed the so-called 'Budapest Memorandum' in Budapest with the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom, agreeing to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances. However, Russia did not honor this promise, invading Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022. For this reason, Budapest is perceived in Ukraine as a place symbolizing the nightmare of the memorandum.
Currently, U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for the first face-to-face summit between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Putin to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. After meeting with President Putin on the 15th, President Trump held bilateral and multilateral talks with President Zelensky and European leaders on the 18th, agreeing to mediate negotiations between the two countries. The plan is to hold a trilateral summit involving the United States if Russia and Ukraine reach an agreement on key issues such as territorial disputes, and to sign a peace agreement.
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