(MENAFN) On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in talks that Moscow described as “constructive.”

These discussions were part of the ongoing preparations for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, which is set to take place in Budapest, Hungary.

Earlier, Putin and Trump had a phone conversation on Thursday, during which they explored the possibility of scheduling another face-to-face meeting.

The two leaders agreed that their teams would begin preparations for the summit, with Budapest being considered as a possible venue.

According to Yuri Ushakov, a Russian presidential aide, Trump called the phone call "very productive" and stated that he and Putin could meet in Hungary within two weeks, following a meeting of high-level delegations next week.

The two presidents last met in Alaska on August 15, marking their first in-person meeting since the Ukraine conflict began over three-and-a-half years ago.

Following the phone call, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement mentioning that Lavrov and Rubio discussed "possible concrete steps to implement the understandings reached" during the previous phone conversation between Putin and Trump.

However, the ministry did not provide further specifics about the discussions.

The U.S. State Department later released its own statement, confirming that Lavrov and Rubio spoke to “discuss next steps following the October 16 call.”

Tommy Pigott, a spokesperson for the department, emphasized that Secretary Rubio underlined the significance of upcoming engagements, seeing them as an opportunity for both Moscow and Washington to collaborate toward a long-term resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump’s vision.

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