Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held phone calls on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, hours after a summit between the American and Russian presidents that failed to reach any agreement to end the war in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was initiated by Turkey. The two foreign ministers exchanged views on the results of the high-level Russia-US meeting held in Alaska on August 15. Turkey has tried to keep diplomatic channels open with both sides during the war, being a NATO member and a partner to both Russia and Ukraine, as well as a potential mediator. Lavrov also spoke with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, discussing issues related to the Ukrainian crisis in the context of the Russia-US summit results.

Hungary has maintained close ties with Russia throughout the war, often opposing EU sanctions and continuing energy cooperation with Moscow, drawing criticism from Western allies of Kyiv. After the Putin-Trump meeting, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, “The world has become a safer place than it was yesterday,” while other European leaders stated that “it is up to Ukraine to make decisions regarding its territories.”