Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed a deal to keep supplying gas to Hungary on Tuesday during a visit to Budapest that cemented Hungary's close ties with the Kremlin as the rest of Europe gives Russia the cold shoulder over the fighting in Ukraine.

The fact Putin was in Hungary at all underlined the relationship — he has not been on a bilateral visit to a European Union state since June last year, just before a Malaysian airliner was shot down over a part of Ukraine held by Moscow-backed rebels.

After several hours of talks, Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said they had reached agreement to extend a gas supply contract that expires this year. They said there were some technical issues to fix before it could be signed.