Viktor Orban wants to talk to Putin, but Brussels doesn’t like it: “The European Council is clear”

He has just returned from the Ukrainian capital Kiev, but on Friday Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is already travelling to Moscow. According to Hungarian news outlet Telex, a meeting with President Vladimir Putin is scheduled for the Russian capital. After that, the Hungarian Prime Minister would travel to a conference in Azerbaijan.

It is far from the first time that Orban and Putin have looked each other in the eye. In October, they spoke in Beijing, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Belt and Road Forum, about Chinese investments worldwide. Orban was the only head of government of an EU member state there at the time.

The timing of the visit is remarkable. On Tuesday, the Hungarian prime minister traveled to Kiev, where he met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. “As president of the EU, I want to help solve European challenges. That’s why my first trip took me to Kiev,” Orban wrote about that trip on Facebook. According to Telex, the fact that he is also immediately going to Moscow proves that he does not want to jeopardize his good relationship with the Kremlin. (Continue reading below the photo)

Brussels not satisfied

According to news site Euractive Orban’s demarche in Brussels is not at all appreciated. The Hungarian presidency is said not to have informed the EU about the visit to the Kremlin to begin with. And Hungary has only been holding the temporary presidency since Monday – as a successor to Belgium. According to Euractiv, “several” EU diplomats condemn the visit to Putin, which “is completely contrary to current EU policy, and even endangers the unity of the EU”.

Charles Michel, outgoing President of the European Council, was critical of X: “The rotating presidency of the EU has no mandate to engage with Russia in the name of the EU. The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. There can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is also concerned about rumours that the Hungarian prime minister would visit Moscow. Those rumours “can’t be true, can they Viktor Orban”, he asks on X.

On Friday morning, Orban posted another message on Facebook with a clear response to the criticism. “You cannot establish peace by whining in Brussels. Under the Hungarian presidency of the EU, we are taking the first steps towards peace. This is what our peace mission is about,” Orban wrote.

The populist Hungarian prime minister is the Kremlin’s only ally in the European Union. During his visit to Kiev, he pleaded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a ceasefire, without first demanding that Russian troops leave occupied Ukrainian territory.