Explosive journey - Orban pays a surprise visit to Putin
Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban has arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orban's spokesperson Bertalan Havasi confirmed the planned meeting with Putin. Despite Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Orban continues to maintain good relations with the Kremlin chief.
Orban staged the trip as a peace mission. "Peace cannot be made from a comfortable chair in Brussels," Orban wrote before confirming his trip on the online platform X, prior to Brussels having any mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU. "We cannot refuse and wait for the war to end in a miraculous way. We will be an important instrument in making the first steps towards peace." Hungary recently took over the rotating EU presidency.
The EU criticized Orban for the trip. Orban has no mandate from Brussels for the visit, EU High Representative Josep Borrell stated. "The visit of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Moscow takes place exclusively in the context of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia," the EU foreign policy chief added. The presidency does not see any representation of the Union externally.
Moscow visit follows trip to Kiev
Orban visited Kiev for the first time since the war began on Tuesday - he had previously called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider a ceasefire to facilitate negotiations. Relations between Kiev and Budapest are tense, as Orban has delayed aid for Ukraine and sought to prevent EU sanctions against Russia.
Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, which partly flow through Ukraine. However, Kiev does not intend to renew the gas transit contract that expires at the end of the year.
Publicly, Zelenskyy ignored Orban's proposal. There are currently no peace negotiations between Kiev and Moscow. Kiev has officially rejected an arms truce before the withdrawal of Russian troops, but recently did not emphasize this condition as much.
Both sides reject a ceasefire without conditions
Putin also rejected an arms truce without conditions shortly thereafter. "We cannot allow the enemy to use this ceasefire to improve their situation, to arm themselves, to mobilize their army and be prepared to resume the armed conflict," Putin said on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kazakh capital Astana. The weapons could only fall silent when Ukraine takes irreversible steps towards de-escalation.
Russia has recently demanded the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the areas it claims, Cherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, as a condition for negotiations. Russian troops have not been able to take control of Zaporizhzhia during the war. They had to withdraw from Cherson due to a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the fall of 2022. The control of the Donetsk region is only partially in the hands of the Russian military.
Orban was in Moscow for the last time in September 2022, several months after the beginning of the Russian aggression war. At that time, he only attended the funeral of the former Soviet party chief and president Mikhail Gorbachev. Orban did not have direct contact with Putin back then. The Russian leadership had sent former President Dmitry Medvedev for the event instead. However, Orban and Putin met in the past autumn at the Silk Road Summit in Beijing.
- EU High Representative Josep Borrell expressed his criticism towards Viktor Orban's trip to Moscow, stating that Orban has no mandate from Brussels for the visit.
- Orban visited Kiev for the first time since the war began, where he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider a ceasefire to facilitate negotiations.
- Despite Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintains good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- The Kremlin confirmed the planned meeting between Orban and Putin, with Bertalan Havasi, Orban's spokesperson, confirming the news.
- Hungary's position on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has strained relations with Kiev, as Orban has delayed aid for Ukraine and opposed EU sanctions against Russia.
- Russia has recently demanded the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from certain areas as a condition for negotiations, including Cherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.
- In a statement, Vladimir Putin rejected an arms truce without conditions, emphasizing that the enemy should not use the ceasefire to improve its situation.
- Viktor Orban previously met with Vladimir Putin at the Silk Road Summit in Beijing, several months after the beginning of the Russian aggression war.
