BUDAPEST, October 17. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed to the need to put an end to the armed conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible, Hungarian government spokesman Bertalan Havas said.

Following the conversation between the two leaders in Beijing on the sidelines of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. the spokesman said: "At the meeting, Viktor Orban pointed to the importance of peace. He said that it was crucial for the whole [European] continent, including Hungary, that the flow of refugees, sanctions and fighting [in Ukraine] stop," Hungarian news agency MTI quoted Havas as saying.

The prime minister's spokesman also revealed that Orban and Putin "discussed Hungarian-Russian cooperation in the fields of gas, oil and nuclear energy."

At the meeting, which was televised, Orban reiterated Hungary's intention to continue its cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, praised Rosatom as a reliable partner, and thanked Gazprom for its cooperation.