Vladimir Putin should only be allowed to travel to the European Union if he agrees to an unconditional ceasefire, France has said.

Hungary's strongman leader Viktor Orbán calls Trump's announcement of a meeting with Putin in his country great news for "peace-loving people."

EADaily, October 20th, 2025. Hungary received from Russia is notified that in the event of the seizure of its assets in the West, it will take retaliatory measures taking into account the position of each individual country.

When Donald Trump announced he would meet Vladimir Putin in Budapest for another summit on Ukraine, Viktor Orbán hailed Hungary as “the only place in Europe” where such a meeting could take place.

Russia said its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, tasked with preparing a summit between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, held a "constructive" conversation on Monday.

On Monday 20 October, the EU Council approved the RePowerEU mechanism, which envisages a complete phase-out of Russian fossil fuels by the European Union, by a large majority. Hungary and Slovakia voted against.

The logistics remain unclear, especially as the EU has closed its airspace for Russian-registered planes since the invasion of Ukraine.

Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to freeze the war on the current battlelines, with Moscow holding a huge swathe of eastern Ukraine.