BUDAPEST, November 11. /TASS/. There is still a chance that Russia and the United States ultimately reach an agreement on Ukraine and, so, a meeting between their leaders, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States, in Budapest is still on the agenda, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
"I can say that a Russia-US summit in Budapest, a large-scale peace conference in Budapest are on the agenda," he said in an interview with the ATV television channel.
He recalled that the Putin-Trump meeting was postponed, not cancelled. In his words, the summit may be held "a little bit later, but it is not impossible."
"The US-Russian agreement [on Ukraine] is not impossible," he stressed.
He noted that as far as he knows the sides continue discussing this matter. "We also know where they have stalled and what need to be changed. By the way, I and trying to be helpful in relations with the Russians in this area so that an agreement can be reached, which is why I have not given up on the peacekeeping mission," the prime minister clarified.
Orban suggested that the main obstacle to resolving the armed conflict in Ukraine today is "the issue of territories." He recalled that the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, as well as the Zapoozhye and Kherson Regions, became part of Russia following referendums held there in 2022, and their status is enshrined in the country's constitution. At the same time, part of these territories remains under Ukraine’s control.
When asked if there is a chance that Trump will come to Budapest regardless of whether it hosts the summit or not, the Hungarian prime minister admitted that he cannot answer this question in the affirmative. When he was visiting the United States on November 7, he reportedly said that he would like to see Trump in Hungary before the parliamentary elections in April 2026.
On October 16, following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US leader Donald Trump announced that they had agreed to meet soon in Budapest. The summit was later postponed as the sides failed to coordinate their positions on a meaningful result concerning the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow and Washington said that the meeting would be organized when appropriate conditions are created.
Receiving Orban in the White House on November 7, Trump said that the major obstacle for his new meeting with Putin is Russia’s unwillingness to end hostilities in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Hungarian government has said more than once that Ukraine is set to continue fighting with the backing from the European Union, which supplies it with weapons and money.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists earlier in the day that the Russian side is ready to discuss with the United States preparations for the summit "if and when the American colleagues return to their proposal." He reiterated that Russia continues to think that Budapest would be a preferable venue for the meeting between the two leaders.