BUDAPEST, October 17. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that this morning, he is planning to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin his upcoming meeting in Budapest with US leader Donald Trump.

"Last night, I held a phone conversation with the American president," he told Radio Kossuth. "And I will talk with President Putin this morning," he added.

Orban expressed hope that the upcoming talks between the two leaders in the Hungarian capital will become an important step toward settling the Ukraine conflict. "From the very beginning, we were saying that war is bad but that doesn’t mean that we should shut down diplomatic channels. If there are no diplomatic channels, there is no peace," the Hungarian premier added.

He emphasized that the upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump "serves the interests of all Hungarian families," as it will facilitate ending the Ukraine conflict which hinders the normal development of European economies, including Hungary.

On Thursday, Trump, following a phone conversation with Putin, said that they had agreed to meet in Budapest soon. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov also confirmed that Moscow and Washington will begin preparing for a new meeting between the two leaders which may take place in the Hungarian capital "without delay." According to him, this is "indeed a very important moment."