Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting in the Kremlin on Friday.
Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said many issues were discussed in what he said was a very good atmosphere – particularly in Ukraine.
Putin recently made a proposal to end the war against Ukraine that he launched more than two years ago, although he conditioned it on Ukraine’s early acceptance of territorial concessions. Putin said he wanted to inform Orbán about the details of his ideas.
Despite the Russian invasion, Orbàn continues to maintain good relations with the Kremlin leader and Hungary is still supplied with gas by Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov emphasized that Orbàn traveled to Russia on his own initiative. Putin has repeatedly praised Orbán for defending his country’s interests and not allowing himself to be commanded.
Hungary currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, but senior EU officials said Orbàn had no mandate to speak on behalf of the European Union during his trip to Moscow. He visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev earlier this week, for the first time since the start of the war.
Ushakov said Orbàn was received as Hungary’s head of government and not as a representative of the EU. Putin, on the other hand, explicitly referred to Hungary’s position in the EU when welcoming Orbàn.
According to Russian officials, Orban did not receive any messages from Zelensky to Putin.
