Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Friday that he would be happy to hold a summit meeting with his American counterpart Donald Trump in Budapest if both sides agreed.

“If it is a matter of using the Budapest platform during our negotiations, I would be very happy about that and I want to thank you for your willingness to help,” Putin said during talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to the Russian news agency Sputnik.

Putin said during the meeting that “relations between Russia and Hungary are currently based on a pragmatic approach to developing bilateral relations.”

He added: “We can speak frankly and this gives us the opportunity to find solutions to any problems.”

Putin affirmed that “Orban’s position on the Ukrainian issue is balanced,” stressing that “Orban is defending the interests of his country and his people in his work.”

Putin added that he would be happy to hold a summit meeting with Trump in Budapest if both sides agreed.

For his part, the Hungarian Prime Minister stated that his country has not succumbed to external pressures and continues to develop its cooperation with Moscow.

Orban said: “We are implementing a sovereign foreign policy course, and our approach towards Russia is consistent. There is cooperation between us in important areas, and we have not given in to external pressures and have not stopped interacting in any of these important areas.”

Orban expressed hope that the peace initiatives regarding Ukraine would achieve the desired results.

Orban revealed that Hungary is ready to provide a platform for discussing a settlement to the Ukrainian crisis.

Orban had previously said that he would travel to Moscow on Friday to discuss crude oil and natural gas supplies, after finally obtaining, through US President Donald Trump, an exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil.