BUDAPEST, November 7. /TASS/. A Russian-US leaders’ summit will indeed take place in Budapest, but it remains uncertain whether it will lead to a swift resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
"The Budapest peace summit will happen. It is not yet clear whether it will be a summit that produces a resolution or if it will be a mere stepping stone on the road to peace," Orban said during a program on Kossuth Radio broadcast from Washington. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Orban at the White House later today.
On Thursday, Orban stated that, in his view, Russia and the US have only one or two outstanding issues to resolve before a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump can be arranged. "If these issues are settled, a peace summit could take place in Budapest within a few days, and depending on the agreement between the parties, a truce and peace in Ukraine might follow," he told the Magyar Nemzet newspaper.
Before departing for Washington, Orban noted that one of the main topics of discussion at the White House would be ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. He also expressed hope that his meeting with Trump would bring the Russian-US summit closer.
On October 16, following a phone conversation with Putin, Trump announced that the two leaders had agreed to meet soon in the Hungarian capital. The summit was later postponed after the sides failed to align their positions to achieve a meaningful outcome in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow and Washington said the meeting would take place once the appropriate conditions are in place.