Washington, 20 October 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The top diplomats of Russia and the US, Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio, have spoken on the phone in preparation for a planned presidential summit meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine, officials on both sides said on Monday.

According to a statement from Moscow, concrete steps were discussed to implement agreements from a telephone conversation between their respective presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump last Thursday.

A spokesman for Rubio said in Washington that the aim of the talks was to achieve "a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump's vision."

After the phone call with Putin, Trump announced that he wanted to meet Putin in the Hungarian capital Budapest, possibly within two weeks. No date has been set yet.

A meeting between Rubio and Lavrov is planned to lay the groundwork for the summit, which would be the second summit between Trump and Putin this year. They last met in the US state of Alaska in mid-August.

MIA file photo