Spanish
The Kremlin defended today Hungary's choice, despite being a member of NATO and the European Union (EU), as the venue for the next summit between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the U.S., Donald Trump.
"Hungary, a NATO and EU country, maintains a special position in relation to its sovereignty, from the point of view of defending its national interests. This undoubtedly awakens the respect of both leaders," said Dmitry Peskov, presidential spokesman, in his daily telephone press conference.
Peskov, who confirmed that Putin had already addressed the matter by phone with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, added: "Such decisions are made jointly."
The summit "can, indeed, take place within two weeks or a little later," he stressed and recalled that Putin and Trump never denied their interest in meeting after the Alaska summit, which was held on August 15.
"There is the will of both presidents (...) There is agreement that there is no need to postpone anything," he pointed out, regarding the telephone conversation held on Thursday by both leaders.
Anyway, he stressed that the meeting should be prepared by the Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who will meet next week.
"First they will call each other and then they will meet and begin to discuss all the matters. There are many issues, as the negotiating team has to be defined," he pointed out.
And he recalled that Russia shows itself open to the peaceful settlement of the conflict with Ukraine, which Putin repeated in his talk with the head of the White House, while -he argued- the European countries with their "militarist ambitions" instigate Kiev to continue the war.
The Kremlin spokesman also admitted that the logistics of Putin's trip to Budapest are not yet clear, for which he would inevitably have to cross the airspace of NATO countries.
In turn, he linked Putin's initiative to call Trump with the need to congratulate him on his success in stopping the war in Gaza, although all analysts relate it to the meeting scheduled this Friday at the White House between the US president and the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Thursday's conversation, Trump and Putin agreed to meet in Hungary after a two-month pause in their contacts, while the Russian leader warned that the supply of American Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv would endanger "the prospects for a peaceful settlement."
