Putin says Russia-US negotiations could lead to possible summit in Hungary

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that future negotiations between Moscow and Washington could lead to a possible summit in Hungary's capital Budapest.

"If our negotiations (with the US) lead to the use of the Budapest venue, I would be very happy about this and would like to thank you for your willingness to assist," Putin said in opening remarks during a meeting in Moscow with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister.

Putin also thanked Orban for his willingness to host a possible Russia-US summit mentioned by US President Donald Trump last month, adding that the proposal to hold talks in Budapest had come from his US counterpart.

Earlier, Orban announced in a video on US social media platform Facebook that he would visit Moscow, saying the goal of the talks is to "ensure Hungary's energy supply for the winter and next year, at an affordable price."

He also mentioned that he visited Washington earlier this month to get an exemption for Hungary from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

Trump in October imposed US sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil — and 34 of their subsidiaries in a bid to ramp up pressure on Moscow as he seeks to broker an elusive peace deal that would end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Orban has often criticized Brussels and called for ending to European funding for Ukraine. He supports a diplomatic solution to end the war, and has backed Trump's current peace proposal.

Budapest was supposed to host a US-Russia summit to discuss ending the fighting in Ukraine, though the summit was later called off, with Trump saying he did not want a "wasted meeting."