President Trump of the United States (front row, left) and President Zelensky of Ukraine met at the White House on the 18th. Yonhap News.

The White House plans to hold a trilateral summit between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine in Budapest, Hungary, to end the war in Ukraine, and has begun preparations for it, U.S. political media Politico reported on the 19th (local time).

According to officials from the Trump administration, the U.S. Secret Service is reportedly preparing for a trilateral summit in Budapest.

While the Secret Service usually reviews multiple locations, meaning the summit venue could change, Budapest is emerging as the White House's first choice, they said.

When asked by reporters at a White House press briefing whether Budapest was the venue for the summit, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre replied, "I will not confirm or deny the location."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said that a trilateral summit between the three countries could be held in Budapest, Hungary.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. Yonhap News. 

In an interview with Fox News, Secretary Mnuchin responded, "It could be" when asked by the host, "Can you confirm reports that a tripartite meeting (U.S.-Russia-Ukraine summit) could be held in Budapest?"

"We need to go through bilateral meetings first (between Russia and Ukraine)," Mnuchin added.

The day before, President Donald Trump, after meeting with Ukrainian and major European leaders at the White House, announced on social media platform Truth Social that he was coordinating a bilateral summit between Russia and Ukraine, and then wrote that he would hold a trilateral summit involving himself after the bilateral meeting.

Budapest is drawing attention as a candidate venue for the trilateral summit, given Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's friendly relations with both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, it is considered a variable that Ukraine might not be entirely enthusiastic about a summit in Budapest.

Ukraine remembers signing the "Budapest Memorandum" in 1994, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which guaranteed its territorial sovereignty in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons, only to have the memorandum prove useless with Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Regarding "air support," one of the key issues in the Ukraine war termination negotiations that President Trump has mentioned as a U.S. contribution option for security guarantees to Ukraine, Secretary Mnuchin expressed the view that the costs could be covered by profits from U.S. arms sales to Europe.

In response to a moderator's question, "Is the concern that the cost of air support for Ukraine will be borne by U.S. taxpayers valid?" Secretary Mnuchin replied, "I am not concerned," adding, "President Trump has said that since his inauguration on January 20th, he would not send any more money to Ukraine."

"We are selling weapons to Europe, and Europe is selling them to Ukraine," he continued. "President Trump adds a 10% profit to those weapons (exported to Europe), so perhaps that 10% will cover the cost of air support."

He also referred to the "mineral agreement" signed between the U.S. and Ukraine at the end of April, saying, "It could be a great reward for U.S. taxpayers when the conflict ends."

Furthermore, Secretary Mnuchin evaluated the U.S.-China relationship, where tariff deferrals imposed on the other country were recently extended for 90 days, and export controls related to advanced semiconductors and rare earth minerals were eased, stating, "The current status quo is working very well."

"We have had very good dialogues with China, and we expect to see them again before November (when the extended tariff deferral expires)," Mnuchin added.

Yonhap News