Orbán after meeting Putin for more than three hours in the Kremlin: “Europe needs peace”

“For Europe, peace is the most important thing (…) As I told Mr. President, Europe needs peace“Orbán said, “and it will not come by itself if we do not work for it. That is why I wanted to find the shortest way to stop the war.“through talks with kyiv and Moscow,” he said after negotiations with Putin in the Kremlin that lasted almost three hours.

For his part, the Russian president insisted on his proposal to end hostilities in Ukraine, which provides for the withdrawal of forces from kyiv and four regions in the south and east of the country. “This is about the Complete withdrawal of all forces from Ukraine of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republicsas well as the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions,” the Kremlin chief said.

The Hungarian leader’s journey has raised a huge dust storm in Brusselseven before it was publicly confirmed. A ‘fear’ based on the fear that Orbán will try to claim representation of the Twenty-Seven, when in reality his position is exactly the opposite of that of the rest of the European partners in everything that concerns Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Despite criticism from Brussels, Viktor Orban believes that his six-month presidency at the head of the EU is a “peace mission” and noted that his country “is slowly becoming the only one that can talk to the whole world.”

“I wanted to listen and I listened to Putin’s opinion (…) The positions are very distant“There are many steps that need to be taken to bring the war to an end, but the most important step was the establishment of contacts and I will continue to work on this,” he told reporters.

“To know what he thinks about the peace initiatives currently in place, What do you think about the ceasefire and peace talks?in what order they should be carried out, and the third thing I was interested in was his vision of Europe after the war,” he listed. “I thank Mr. President for his frank and honest conversation,” said Orbán.

“We have been living in Europe for two and a half years in the shadow of war. This generates great difficulties for EuropeWe see a lot of destruction and suffering. This war begins to affect economic growth and our competitiveness,” he added. He also noted that “in the last two and a half years we have understood that Peace would not be achieved without diplomacy“.

This visit follows the one he made just three days ago to Ukraine, where he spoke with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyon the possibility of a ceasefire to facilitate peace negotiations between Moscow and kyiv.

Europe reacts

“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visits Moscow: appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the way for a comprehensive, fair and lasting peace in Ukraine,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. As a sign of her discomfort, Von der Leyen postponed the traditional trip of the college of commissioners to Hungary for the start of the presidency until after the summer and is now considering cancelling it altogether, as reported by the European Commission. Juan Sanhermelando from Brussels.

“In Moscow, Viktor Orbán does not represent the EU in any way “He is not taking advantage of his position as EU President to sow confusion. The EU is united, clearly behind Ukraine and against Russian aggression,” said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who has just been elected as the future High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

In a forceful official statement, the head of community diplomacy, Josep Borrellhas made it clear that “Prime Minister Orbán has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow”The meeting with Putin “is taking place exclusively within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia.” The Hungarian EU presidency “does not imply any external representation of the Union,” he stressed.