Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has provoked outrage from EU and NATO partners with an unscheduled visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top politicians criticized the trip as "irresponsible" and detrimental to efforts to achieve an acceptable peace in Ukraine.
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- Hungary's Prime Minister Orban has arrived in Moscow for a visit.
- In view of the Russian war in Ukraine, it is highly unusual for a European head of government to visit Russia.
- The EU has voiced criticism.
The EU side expressed a lack of understanding because Hungary only took over the six-monthly rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers last Monday. Criticism also came from Ukraine.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made it clear that she sees Orban's unilateral action as a threat to the credibility of the European Union. "Only unity and determination will pave the way to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine," she commented. "Appeasement will not stop Putin."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, were comparatively restrained in their reactions. Scholz merely clarified that Orban was traveling to Putin as Prime Minister of Hungary and not as a foreign policy representative of the EU.
Stoltenberg explained in Brussels that Hungary had informed the Alliance about the trip in advance. He emphasized that it is important that everyone agrees that Russia is the aggressor in the conflict with Ukraine and that territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected. Orban also did not represent NATO in meetings with Putin. It was also clear that only Ukraine could decide what would be acceptable conditions for peace negotiations.
The Kremlin boss taunts
Nevertheless, Putin immediately took advantage of the situation on Friday. He greeted Orban with the words: "I understand that this time you are coming here not only as our long-standing partner, but also as President-in-Office of the EU Council."
A photo shared by Orban on the X platform also featured the logo of Hungary's EU Council Presidency. However, he did not comment on this directly. In Moscow, however, he praised his intended role as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict. "Slowly, the countries that can talk to both sides involved in the war are becoming fewer, so slowly Hungary is the only country in Europe that can talk to everyone," he said.
He had previously defined his intended peace mission at X. "Even though the rotating EU presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end," he wrote. "We will be an important instrument to take the first steps towards peace." Poland's head of government Donald Tusk commented: "The question is in whose hands this instrument will be."
Orban's visit benefits Putin
Orban's visit comes in handy for Putin to show that he is not isolated despite his war of aggression against Ukraine.
At the same time, the visit offers him the opportunity to show how divided the West is. The Kremlin leader made it clear that he would hardly deviate from his ideas for the division of Ukraine. He had recently clearly outlined his proposals for "peace" in a speech at his own foreign ministry, and Orban was certainly familiar with them, he said, to applauding nods from his guest.
Putin had named the withdrawal of Kiev troops from all four regions claimed by Moscow in the east and south-east of Ukraine as a prerequisite for peace negotiations. He later also denied the possibility of a ceasefire before the start of negotiations.
Kiev is annoyed
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also criticized Orban's trip to Moscow. "We remind you that the principle of "no agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine" remains inviolable for our country and call on all states to strictly adhere to it," wrote the authority in Kiev. The trip had taken place without Kiev's consent and had not been coordinated with the Ukrainian side.
Orban had only visited Kiev on Tuesday - for the first time since the start of the war. There, he called on Zelensky to consider a ceasefire in order to facilitate negotiations. Relations between Kiev and Budapest are considered tense because Orban has repeatedly delayed aid for Ukraine and tried to prevent sanctions against Russia. Selensky left Orban's proposal unanswered in public. Kiev has so far officially rejected a ceasefire before the withdrawal of Russian troops.
However, nobody was really surprised by Orban's trip to Putin. The Hungarian has long held the view that the political course of the EU and NATO could lead to an expansion of the war beyond Ukraine. Most recently, for example, he negotiated in NATO that Hungary would not have to participate financially or with personnel in a planned NATO mission to coordinate arms deliveries for Ukraine.
SDA