After the Selensky meeting

Orbán lands in Moscow for talks with Putin

(Bild: AFP/Pool/Valery Sharifulin)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban landed in Moscow on Friday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The peace mission continues. Second stop: Moscow," Orban, who visited Ukraine on Tuesday, wrote on X. There was fierce criticism from the EU.

Despite the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Orban continues to maintain good relations with the Kremlin leader and is staging his trip to Russia as a peace mission. "You can't create peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Putin told Orban that he was prepared to discuss the "nuances" of peace proposals with him. He also wanted to find out what Orban's position was and how he assessed the views of other European countries, the Kremlin chief said.

Orban said that there were important issues for Europe to discuss. "Hungary will slowly become the last European country that can talk to everyone," the Hungarian prime minister said in a live broadcast of the meeting on the website of the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

There was criticism from the EU. "Appeasement will not stop Putin," posted Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on X. "Only unity and determination will pave the way to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

Orban (left) stages his meeting with Putin as a peace mission.

(Bild: AFP/Pool/Valery Sharifulin)

Brussels sniffy: "No mandate" for trip
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced in advance that Orban's visit to Moscow would take place "exclusively within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia". Orban had received "no mandate" for the trip. The EU's position towards Russia is clear, Borrell continued. There are no official contacts with Putin.

Newly elected NEOS MEP Helmut Brandstätter also criticized the trip. "Orban - what a sad and corrupt figure. Fits in with Putin's friends Austria (FPÖ), but not with a democratic EU," he wrote on X.

Orban proposed a ceasefire to Selenskyj
Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council a few days ago. Only on Tuesday, Orban visited the Ukrainian capital Kiev - for the first time since the start of the war. There, he called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire to allow negotiations to take place.

Ukraine does not want to extend gas transit
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary are considered tense because Orban has repeatedly delayed aid for Ukraine and tried to prevent sanctions against Russia. Our neighboring country is still heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, some of which flow through Ukraine despite the war. However, Ukraine does not want to extend the gas transit contract that expires at the end of the year.

Zelenskyi left Orban's proposal unanswered in public. There are currently no peace negotiations between Kiev and Moscow. Ukraine has so far officially rejected a ceasefire before the withdrawal of Russian troops, but has recently stopped emphasizing this condition.