Hungary's Orbán arrives in Moscow for talks with Putin
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Moscow on Friday for a rare meeting by a European leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed peace proposals for Ukraine, which triggered condemnation from Kyiv and some European leaders and officials, AP reports.
Orbán's visit comes only days after he made a similar unannounced trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and proposed that Ukraine consider agreeing to an immediate cease-fire with Russia.
“The number of countries that can talk to both warring sides is diminishing,” Orbán said. “Hungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can speak to everyone.”
Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the EU at the beginning of July and, in comments at the beginning of their meeting that were televised, Putin suggested that Orbán had come to Moscow as a representative of the European Council. Several European officials — including the leaders of Germany, Denmark and Estonia — dismissed that suggestion and said Orbán had no mandate for anything beyond a discussion about bilateral relations.
European officials and leaders have heavily criticized Orbán's visit to Moscow, something only one other European leader has done since the start of the conflict.
“This is about appeasement. It’s not about peace,” European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said.
Hungary at the beginning of the month took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council, a largely formal role that can be used to shape the bloc’s policy agenda. Orbán has said he wants to use the presidency to advocate for an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement that Orbán’s visit to Moscow “takes place, exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia.”
“Prime Minister Orbán has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow," Borrell said, adding that his "position excludes official contacts between the EU and President Putin. The Hungarian Prime Minister is thus not representing the EU in any form.”
He noted that Putin has been indicted by the International Criminal Court and an arrest warrant released for his role in relation to the forced deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Orbán informed him in advance about his travel to Moscow but that he “is not representing NATO at these meetings."
Kaja Kallas, the outgoing Estonian prime minister nominated to become the next EU foreign policy chief, accused Orbán of “exploiting" the presidency and said the Hungarian leader is trying “to sow confusion.”
"The EU is united, clearly behind Ukraine and against Russian aggression,” Kallas, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, wrote Friday on the social media platform X.
In an email on Friday, Orbán's press chief, Bertalan Havasi, said the Hungarian leader's trip comes “as part of his peace mission” — reflecting the image of a peacemaker that the populist leader has cultivated since Putin sent his troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also joined the trip to Moscow, according to a post on his Facebook page.
Speaking to Hungarian state radio before departing Friday morning, Orbán said he was aware that his country’s presidency of the EU “does not entitle us to negotiate on behalf of anyone.”
