France pointed to Orban's key role in organizing the meeting between Putin and Trump

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban may play a key role in organizing a meeting between American leader Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This opinion was expressed on October 17 by French lawyer and political scientist Emmanuel Leroy in an interview with Izvestia.

Leroy stressed that Orban is able to become an ideal mediator for the US-Russian summit, thanks to his excellent relations with Donald Trump.

"I think that Mr. Orban, in an effort to advance the path to peace, is quite capable, and most importantly, sincerely wants to organize this meeting in Hungary," he said.

Leroy also noted that Hungary, which has demonstrated neutrality on the Ukrainian issue, unlike other European countries such as France and Germany, is a suitable country for hosting the summit.

"Mr. Orban actually spoke in the Hungarian press today, stating his intention to establish contact with his Russian counterpart, Mr. Vladimir Putin, to discuss the possibility of organizing a US-Russian summit in Budapest," the political scientist added.

Grandees in Budapest: what to expect from a new meeting between Putin and Trump

Before the conversation with Zelensky, the US president called the Russian leader to check his watch.

On the same day, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced a telephone conversation with Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov in preparation for the Russian-American summit. Szijjarto later said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would also hold a telephone conversation on Friday evening, October 17. Presumably, they will arrange a meeting in Hungary.

On October 16, Trump announced a meeting with Putin in Hungary and called the phone conversation with the Russian president productive. He later stated that he hoped to hold the summit within two weeks.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.