Putin gives his approval for the peace summit to be held in Budapest. The president of Russia, , has accepted the proposal of his Hungarian counterpart — whom Zelensky does not ‘trust’ and said was “blocking Ukraine everywhere” — that peace negotiations in Ukraine are held in its capital.
“If the Budapest platform is used during our negotiations, I will also be delighted. And I want to thank you for your willingness to help,” the Russian leader said at the beginning of the meeting.
In addition to discussing peace in Ukraine, the Hungarian leader has assured that another of the main points of today’s negotiations is “to continue guaranteeing Hungary’s energy supply.” And the country led by Obán is one of the main buyers of Russian energy, as it imports from there about 65% of the crude oil and 85% of the gas it uses.
The foreign ministers of the two countries, the Russian Sergei Lavrov and the Hungarian Péter Szijjártó, and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexandr Nóvak, coordinator of Russia’s energy policy, which offers much lower gas and oil prices, have participated in the talks.
In total, with this meeting, both leaders now have a total of thirteen meetings (three since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022). The last time the Hungarian traveled to Moscow to speak with Putin was on July 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, the president of the United States, , has announced that two of his envoys will meet with the Ukrainian and Russian sides to discuss the negotiations and promote the signing of the agreement formulated by the United States, which was modified and reduced to 19 points.
