Peter Szijjarto says he has spoken with Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov to discuss the upcoming meeting in Budapest

Hungary and Russia have begun to discuss preparations for the planned summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Budapest, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said.

In a post on Facebook on Friday, Szijjarto said he has spoken by phone with Putin's chief foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, and confirmed that "preparations are in full swing."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced that he and Putin have held a phone call on Friday. Szijjarto added that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also set to talk later in the day.

Szijjarto said that Hungary is prepared to ensure security for the Russia-US talks, which are set to focus on the Ukraine conflict, and that Budapest will respectfully receive Putin and guarantee his unimpeded travel to and from the country.

On Thursday, Orban stated that Budapest is ready and willing to host the meeting between the Russian and US presidents, calling it "great news for the peace-loving people of the world" and describing Hungary as an "island of peace."

The upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin was first announced by the US president on Thursday, after the two leaders held their first phone call in almost two months. The conversation lasted for more than two hours, according to the Kremlin and the White House. Trump described the call as "very productive," and stated that "great progress was made."

The Kremlin later also confirmed the planned summit, with Ushakov stating that preparations would start "without delay." He noted that Budapest was proposed as a meeting place by Trump and that Putin immediately supported the idea.

Putin and Trump last met in mid-August in Alaska to discuss the Ukraine conflict and the restoration of Russia-US relations. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two since 2019. Both leaders called the summit productive, although no breakthrough was achieved.

While contacts between Moscow and Washington have since wound down, Lavrov stated earlier this week that the Alaska process was "not finished," and that the two nations can still "do much."

(RT.com)