Hungary Ready To Host Trump - Putin Meeting

JAKARTA - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said preparations for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were underway.

"I just spoke with President Donald Trump by telephone. Preparations for the US-Russia peace summit are ongoing," he wrote on X, adding that Hungary was the "island of peace," as reported by TASS October 17.

Despite including members of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), PM Orban took a different path from other alliance leaders, maintaining good relations with Russia while questioning the logic of Western military aid for Kyiv.

"The planned meeting between the president of America and Russia is good news for peace-loving world people," Orban said on X, quoted by Reuters.

"We are ready!" he said.

Earlier, President Trump on Thursday announced plans for a meeting with President Putin in the Hungarian capital, after two hours of telephone talks.

Russian President Yury Ushakov's aide confirmed Moscow and Washington would "without delay" begin preparations for the meeting, which is likely to be held in Budapest. He described this as a "very important moment."