BRATISLAVA, October 17. /TASS/. The upcoming meeting between the Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, in Budapest may lay a groundwork for peace in Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Sviridenko, in Kosice in eastern Slovakia.

"We paid much attention to the news about the upcoming meeting between the US and Russian presidents in Budapest. I expressed hope that this meeting will have key significance for reaching a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine," the TA-3 television channel quoted him as saying.

After a phone call between the Russian and US leaders on October 16, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that Moscow and Washington will immediately begin preparing a new meeting between the two leaders, which may be organized in Budapest. According to the Kremlin aide, the Hungarian capital city has been proposed as a venue for a potential summit by the US leader and the Russian president supported the idea.