Following the surprise visit to kyiv, Orbán is expected to meet Putin in Moscow on Friday, according to Radio Liberty. The Russian and Hungarian governments have neither confirmed nor denied this. Charles Michel says the current Hungarian EU presidency cannot make deals on behalf of the bloc.
“Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbánarrive tomorrow in Moscow for a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin“. The news was published by ‘Radio Liberty’citing a Budapest government source and investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi.
According to the journalist, a Hungarian Government Delegation already is located in the Russian capital Orbán is expected to travel to the country. The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, the government source said.
The Hungarian Prime Minister’s visit to the Kremlin would come a few days after his trip to kyiv, undertaken shortly after the start of the Hungarian Presidency of the European UnionSources in the Hungarian and Russian governments have neither confirmed nor denied the news.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Orbán has been among the most vocal European Union and NATO leaders reluctant to support kyiv’s resistance in front of the Kremlin troops.
Last month, Putin proposed a “peace plan” considered inadmissible for the European leaders due to the conditions demanded by the Kremlin. These include the renunciation of NATO ambitions and the cession of four partially occupied regions that Russia claims in their entirety, in addition to Crimea.
Ukraine rejected the conditions as absurd and said they amounted to capitulation. In kyiv, Orbán, who has close relations with Putin, presented Zelensky with a ceasefire proposalaimed at suspending fighting with Russia.
Michel: Orbán cannot engage in dialogue with Putin on behalf of the EU
In a post on social media X this Thursday, the President of the European Council, Charles Michelreferred to the publication about Orbán’s plans to meet Putin in Moscow. “The rotating EU presidency has no mandate to engage in dialogue with Russia on behalf of the EU. The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. No discussion on Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.”
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