Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow later on Friday, the Kremlin confirmed. "Yes, we can confirm," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS in response to a question on the matter.

According to Anadolu Agency, Orban announced in a video statement on US social media company Facebook that he will visit the Russian capital later in the day, stating that the goal of the upcoming talks is to "ensure Hungary's energy supply for the winter and next year, at an affordable price." He also recalled his visit to Washington, DC earlier this month, where he sought to get Hungary exempt from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

On November 7, Orban told reporters at the White House that Hungary and the US are entering what he called a "golden age" of bilateral relations under President Donald Trump. Trump mentioned that he is considering issuing a waiver for Hungary to continue purchasing Russian oil without fear of facing secondary US sanctions. "We're looking at it, because it's very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas. As you know, they don't have the advantage of having sea ... they don't have the ports," Trump said in response to a reporter's question on the issue.

Trump imposed US sanctions in October on Russia's two largest oil companies - Rosneft and Lukoil - and 34 of their subsidiaries. The move aimed to increase pressure on Moscow as he seeks to broker a peace deal to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Orban, who has often criticized Brussels and calls for an end to European funding for Ukraine, supports a diplomatic resolution to the conflict and has backed Trump's current peace proposal.

A US-Russia summit, which was supposed to be hosted in Budapest to discuss ending the fighting in Ukraine, was called off.