Ungarn Prime Minister Viktor Orban has arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was announced by Orban’s spokesman Bertalan Havasi. He confirmed a planned meeting with Putin. Despite Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Orban continues to maintain cordial relations with the Kremlin leader.
In televised speeches at the Kremlin on Friday, Putin said he considered Orban a representative of the entire European Union during his visit. “I consider that this time you have come not only as a long-term partner, but also as the head of the Council of the European Union,” the Russian leader said.
He expects Orban to report on his position on Ukraine and the position of “European partners”. He wanted to use the opportunity to talk to Orban about the “undertones” associated with the Ukraine conflict.
The Hungarian head of government conducted the visit as a peace visit. “You can’t create peace from a comfortable chair in Brussels,” Orban wrote on the online platform X before confirming his trip.
“Although the rotating EU Council Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to end brilliantly. We will be an important tool for taking the first steps towards #peace.
The trip was preceded by strong criticism from the EU itself. Orban explained that he had no mandate from Brussels for the trip EU-Chefdiplomat Joseph Borrell. “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow takes place exclusively within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia,” said the EU’s foreign affairs representative. The Council Presidency does not provide external representation of the Union.
An EU official in Brussels said Orban had not announced his trip to Moscow. If Orban had asked, Council President Charles Michael “would have strongly advised against such a visit.”
President of the European Union Commission Ursula van der Leyen Condemns Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow. “Peace will not stop Putin,” the German top politician wrote Website X. “Only unity and determination will pave the way for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Van der Leyen refers to the fact that the EU position on Russia’s war actually envisages taking a tough and united stance against Russian aggression. Negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin should be held only if it is also in Ukraine’s interests.
Chancellor Olaf Scholes (SPD) agreed to represent the EU during his visit to Moscow. The European Council, which took over Hungary’s presidency on Monday, will be represented by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Scholz said in Berlin on Friday: “That is why Hungary’s Council Presidency does not support this visit, but rather the activity of the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Orban did not inform him of his trip to Moscow in advance, Scholz explained. Regarding the possible role of the visit in the EU’s handling of the war in Ukraine, Scholz said: “The position of the EU on this issue is very clear: we condemn the Russian war of aggression, we support Ukraine financially and ( .. .) with weapons, which is also organized by the EU.
According to information from NATO, there was General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg His visit to Moscow was informed in advance. Norway says Orbán is traveling in his role as his country’s prime minister and is not representing the Western military alliance, of which Hungary is a member. There are no signs that Putin is ready for peace.
Kiev talks to Zelensky
Orban visited Kiev only on Tuesday – the first time since the start of the war. There he called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire to allow negotiations. Relations between Kiev and Budapest are seen as tense as Orbán has repeatedly delayed aid to Ukraine and sought to block economic sanctions against Russia.
Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, some of which still flow through Ukraine after the war. However, Kiev does not want to extend the gas transit contract, which expires at the end of the year.
Zelenskyj publicly refused to respond to Orban’s suggestion. There are currently no peace talks between Kiev and Moscow. Kiev has so far officially rejected a ceasefire prior to the withdrawal of Russian troops, but has not recently brought this condition forward.
Shortly thereafter, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin also rejected a ceasefire without preconditions. Putin said on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security summit that “the enemy cannot be allowed to use this ceasefire to improve his situation, to use weapons himself, to replenish his army through forced mobilization and to be ready to continue the armed conflict. Established in the Kazakh capital of Astana.”
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