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By RFE/RL staff – Jul 05, 2024, 4:00 PM CDT
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow days after visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.
- Orban’s trip has drawn strong condemnation from EU leaders, who emphasize that the EU presidency holds no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU.
- Orban presented Zelenskiy with a ceasefire proposal during his Kyiv visit, but Ukraine maintains that its territorial integrity must be the foundation of any peace agreement.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will travel to Moscow on July 5 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, days after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, a Hungarian government source told RFE/RL.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will also accompany Orban to the Kremlin, the government source said on July 4. Szijjarto has visited Russia more than five times since Moscow invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
News of the Moscow visit comes days after Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union — an action that raised concerns among many in the EU because of Orban’s regular pro-Russia statements – and elicited quick condemnation from leaders of the bloc.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, posted on X that “the EU rotating presidency has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU.”
“The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. No discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine,” Michel added.
An EU official who asked not to be identified told RFE/RL that Orban has not informed the bloc of any planned trip to Moscow.
If Orban would have asked, Michel would have strongly advised against such a visit, the official said.
Since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Orban has stood out among leaders from the European Union and NATO for his reluctance to sign onto massive Western weapons and aid packages for Ukraine.
Central European investigative editor Szabolcs Panyi first reported on the trip in a post on X. RFE/RL later received confirmation of the visit via a Hungarian government source.
The Hungarian prime minister’s press office has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Last month, Putin said Russia would end its war — which is believed to have killed and wounded at least 500,000 soldiers on both sides — only if Kyiv met certain conditions.
Those included renouncing its NATO ambitions and ceding four partially occupied regions that Russia claims in their entirety,