WASHINGTON, October 17. /TASS/. The upcoming meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Hungary may help to reach new agreements on Ukraine and extend the New START treaty, US political scientist and analyst John Kavulich told TASS.

"Can the Trump-Putin Summit II lead to a Russian Federation-Ukraine ceasefire or a peace treaty? Yes," said the analyst, who is a senior research editor at Issue Insight.

"The betting would be that a result of the Trump-Putin Summit II would be an agreement for a ceasefire, continuing exchanges of prisoners, and continued return of children, along with announcements about extending nuclear arms agreements," he continued.

The expert is certain that "the winner of the Trump-Putin Summit II in Budapest, Hungary, will be Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary."

"Orban’s decision to maintain support for Donald Trump <…>; his refusal to disconnect from Vladimir Putin <…>; and his questioning commercial, economic, financial, political, and military support to Volodymyr Zelensky <…>, were the primary reasons for the Trump-Putin Summit II location," Kavulich said.

In his opinion, Trump "takes pleasure in rewarding the ‘bad boy’ of the EU and NATO, so Prime Minister Orban is the perfect host." "For President Zelensky, the selection of Hungary is a bitter pill - Hungary borders Ukraine," the expert added.

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov confirmed that Moscow and Washington would "without delay" begin preparations for the meeting, which may be held in Budapest. He described this as "a truly significant moment." Preparations will start in the next few days, with a phone conversation between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.