Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for Budapest's readiness to host a possible Russian meeting with US President Donald Trump, TASS reported, quoted by BTA.
“Thank you for responding in this way to a possible meeting between me and the US president in your country. If we use the territory of Budapest in the course of the negotiations, I will be glad and grateful for your assistance“, Putin said.
Orban stressed that Hungary's economy has been seriously affected by the war in Ukraine and the deteriorating relations between the EU and Russia. “Hungary is feeling the impact of the conflict tangibly and is suffering significant economic losses. "Military action is blocking economic cooperation with both Europe and Russia," he said.
Before the meeting between the two leaders, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a roughly 45-minute conversation with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto.