Orban in Moscow tomorrow to meet Putin

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will be in Moscow tomorrow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hungarian broadcaster Radio Liberty reported this, citing a government source in Budapest. Orban began his rotating EU presidency on July 1 and has already met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Orban will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, the government source said. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Orban has stood out among European Union and NATO leaders for his reluctance to sign off on massive Western arms and aid packages for Ukraine. Last month, Putin said Russia would end the war only if Kiev met certain conditions.

These include abandoning NATO ambitions and handing over four partially occupied regions that Russia claims in their entirety, as well as Crimea. Ukraine has rejected the conditions as absurd and said they amounted to capitulation. In Kiev, Orban — who maintains close ties with Putin — had presented Zelensky with a ceasefire proposal aimed at suspending fighting with Russia.