The White House is planning a possible trilateral meeting between the presidents of the United States, Russia and Ukraine in the Hungarian capital of Budapest as the next step in negotiations to end the years-long war, according to a Trump administration official and a person close to the administration, Politico reported Tuesday.

The U.S. Secret Service is preparing for the summit in the Central European nation led by Prime Minister Victor Orbán, who has been close to President Donald Trump since the president's first term.

While the Secret Service typically explores multiple locations and the final headquarters could change, Budapest is emerging as the first choice for the White House, according to the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Trump he preferred Moscow, and French President Emmanuel Macron insisted Geneva was the ideal location for the meetings. Not to be outdone, the Swiss foreign minister promised Putin"immunity" from an outstanding arrest warrant for war crimes if the nation, known for its neutrality, was chosen for the peace talks.

Hungary would be an awkward option for Ukraine, as it evokes the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia pledged to defend Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and respect for its borders in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons. Putin's 2014 attack on Ukraine demonstrated the futility of the agreement when none of the signatories provided military forces to counter the attacks.