Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Moscow on Friday to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare trip to Russia by a European leader that drew condemnation from Kyiv and European leaders.
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 start of July and Putin suggested that Orbán had come to Moscow as a top representative of the European Council. Several top European officials dismissed that suggestion and said Orbán had no mandate for anything beyond a discussion about bilateral relations.
Speaking after the Kremlin talks, Orbán said he told Putin that "Europe needs peace,” adding that he asked the Russian leader for his thoughts on existing peace plans and whether he believed a cease-fire could precede any potential peace talks.
Standing alongside Orbán, Putin declared that Russia wouldn’t accept any cease-fire or temporary break in hostilities that would allow Ukraine “to recoup losses, regroup and rearm.”
The Russian leader repeated his demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Moscow claims to have annexed in 2022 as a condition for any prospective peace talks. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected that demand, suggesting it is akin to asking Kyiv to withdraw from its own territory.
Putin said they also exchanged views on the current state of Russia-EU relations which, are “now at their lowest point.”
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 said that he looks at his six-month presidency of the EU Council as a “peace mission,” saying the fighting in Ukraine had burdened Europe’s security and economy, and that only dialogue and diplomacy could bring an end to the hostilities.
“I wanted to know where we can find the shortest road to peace,” Orbán said of his visit, adding that he’d also asked Putin on his view on Europe’s long-term security after hostilities end in Ukraine.
European officials have heavily criticized Orbán's trip to Moscow, the first such visit by a European leader since Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Putin in the Kremlin in April 2022, just weeks after Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
Hungary's Orbán Meets Putin for Talks in Moscow in a Rare Visit by a European Leader
A handout photo made available by the Hungarian Prime Minister's Press Office shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (C-R) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (C-L) during their meeting as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (3-R), Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (2-L) and Orban's chief national security advisor Marcell Biro (L) look on in the Kemlin in Moscow, Russia, 05 July 2024. Orban arrived in Moscow on a one-day working visit. EPA/VIVIEN CHER BENKO/HUNGARIAN PM'S PRESS OFFICE
Hungary's Orbán Meets Putin for Talks in Moscow in a Rare Visit by a European Leader
A handout photo made available by the Hungarian Prime Minister's Press Office shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (C-R) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (C-L) during their meeting as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (3-R), Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (2-L) and Orban's chief national security advisor Marcell Biro (L) look on in the Kemlin in Moscow, Russia, 05 July 2024. Orban arrived in Moscow on a one-day working visit. EPA/VIVIEN CHER BENKO/HUNGARIAN PM'S PRESS OFFICE
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