MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Hungary is the important Russian partner in Europe, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after talks with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban.

"I would like to stress that Hungary is the important partner of Russia in Europe. Despite the challenging situation related to the coronavirus pandemic, mutual trade grew by 30% to $5.5 bln as of the end of eleven months of the last year," Putin said. Mutual investments of both countries also increased, he noted.

"Our negotiations with the Prime Minister were held in the meaningful and businesslike atmosphere, traditional for Russian-Hungarian relations. I should say we discussed almost all items we wanted to discuss," the Russian leader added.