The meeting took place in the Constantine Palace in an open and friendly atmosphere.
President Putin expressed his hope that Hungary’s accession to the European Union would not blur bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia. He also noted the positive developments in trade and economic contacts. This year the trade turnover between the two countries grew the most compared to the turnover with other Central and Eastern European nations and reached about 35%.
Mr Putin and Mr Medgyessy agreed to assign the Ministries of either country to work out the possibility of simplifying visa regulations.
The Russian President thanked the Prime Minister of Hungary for the collection of Tokay wine donated to the Konstantinovsky Palace during the celebration of St Petersburg’s 300th anniversary. Prime Minister Medgyessy unknowingly revived one of the traditions of the palace. The wine collection in its cellars exceeds 12,500 bottles from around the world.
After the meeting the President personally accompanied the Prime Minister to the airport.