Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met in the Kremlin on Friday for their 14th bilateral talks, focusing on energy security, the war in Ukraine and future relations. Orbán reaffirmed that Hungary’s energy supply will continue to rely on Russian deliveries and said Budapest remains ready to host eventual peace talks.
Viktor Orbán flew to Moscow early Friday, saying Hungary must guarantee affordable Russian gas and oil for the coming winter and beyond. Speaking at Budapest Airport, he stressed that Hungary’s energy security depends on pipeline deliveries from Russia—and noted that peace efforts would almost certainly feature in his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
A breakthrough in Ukraine’s peace efforts may bring diplomacy to Budapest, after President Zelenskyy said Kyiv is ready to advance a US-backed framework and Donald Trump signalled talks are nearing completion. With Viktor Orbán reportedly preparing a Moscow visit, the long-planned Budapest peace summit could finally materialize.
‘This does not exactly gel with the idea that Trump is some Putin sycophant, does it?’
The planned Trump–Putin summit in Budapest has exposed how modern diplomacy is waged through information warfare. Leaks, denials, and anonymous sources have flooded the media, as Brussels and Kyiv intensify efforts to block the meeting—fearing that a deal might emerge outside their control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signalled his willingness to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Budapest, saying he is ‘ready’ to join the summit if it aims for a just and lasting peace. ‘We need both sides of this tragedy,’ he said.
US President Donald Trump has explained why Budapest was chosen as the venue for his upcoming peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, praising Hungary as strong, stable, and safe. Trump said that both he and Putin ‘like Viktor’, describing him as ‘a very good host’.
Budapest may soon join the ranks of historic diplomatic cities as US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to meet there for peace talks on Ukraine. Analyst Anton Bendarjevskiy says the summit could become Hungary’s most significant foreign policy milestone in decades.
Hungary’s capital will host the next Trump–Putin summit on Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed on Thursday. The talks aim to revive negotiations stalled since August and come just as Zelenskyy pushes Washington for long-range Tomahawk missiles to strike deep inside Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Viktor Orbán as a leader defending national interests in Europe, declaring that if such forces grow stronger, ‘Europe will be reborn.’ Speaking at the Valdai Club in Sochi, he also attacked the EU’s migration policies, while boasting that Russian forces hold the strategic initiative in Ukraine.