Moscow Not Yet Negotiating Putin's Flight to Hungary

Russia and the United States have begun preparations for a meeting of their presidents, which is planned to be held in Hungary. Against this backdrop, the Russian Foreign Ministry is already addressing organizational issues, including logistical ones.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, commenting on the preparatory work, noted that it is still too early to start negotiations with NATO member countries Poland, Bulgaria, or Romania about opening their airspace for the Russian government plane. Answering RIA Novosti's question about whether the Foreign Ministry has had contacts with these countries, Grushko briefly replied: "It's still early."

This issue is key, as these states are geographically located between Russia and Hungary, and the flight of the Russian delegation will require the permission of at least one of them.

The agreement to hold the Putin-Trump summit was reached on October 16 during a telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries. This 2.5-hour conversation was the eighth since the beginning of the year. According to the Russian President's aide, Yuri Ushakov, the venue for the meeting, the Hungarian capital Budapest, was proposed by Donald Trump, to which the Russian side gave its consent. The parties agreed to immediately begin preparatory work.

In turn, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed that he has already ordered the creation of an organizing committee to hold the summit at a high level.