Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that he would talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin later today and that Budapest had already begun preparations for the meeting between Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Yesterday, Trump announced that he would meet with Putin in the Hungarian capital to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Orban - a long-time ally of Trump who has maintained close ties with Russia despite the war in Ukraine - said that the meeting "will be for peace" and that if there is a peace agreement, it will lead to a new stage of economic development in Hungary and Europe.
The prime minister told Hungarian state radio that the meeting between the two presidents would take place within two weeks if the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia manage to settle the remaining open issues at talks scheduled for next week.
"Last night I ordered the establishment of an organizing committee, we have identified the most important tasks and preparations have begun," Orbán said, without giving details.
The Hungarian prime minister noted that Europe must open its own diplomatic channels for communication with Russia and again accused the European Union of taking a "pro-war stance".
The veteran prime minister has repeatedly clashed with EU leaders. He questions the sending of European military aid to Kiev, while maintaining Hungary's heavy dependence on Russian gas and oil imports, Reuters recalls.