Ukraine war: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meets Putin in Moscow

July 7, 2024

Author, Jaroslav Lukiv and Nick Thorpe
Role, BBC News, London and Hungary
July 5, 2024

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The visit was heavily criticized by EU heads of state and government and the Ukrainian government.

Friday’s meeting was part of what Orban called a “peace mission” and came three days after his visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Hungary has just taken over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, but EU leaders have stressed that Mr Orban is not acting on behalf of the Union.

Mr Orban is the only EU leader to have maintained close ties with the Kremlin even after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

After the meeting, which lasted several hours, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that Russia and Ukraine’s views on achieving peace were still “far apart”.

“Many steps are needed to end the war, but we have taken the first step towards restoring dialogue,” he said.

The Russian president called the conversation “frank and useful.” He also reiterated a previously rejected proposal that Ukraine should withdraw from the regions in the south and east of the country that Russia has allegedly annexed – an area that includes territory that Russia does not currently occupy.

Volodymyr Zelensky has long stated that Ukraine will not negotiate with Moscow until Russian forces have left all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.

Putin had previously stated that Orban was visiting “not only as a long-standing partner” but as a representative of the European Union.

However, European heads of state and government openly condemned the trip to Moscow and stressed that it was not a representative of the EU.

“The rotating EU presidency has no mandate to negotiate with Russia on behalf of the EU,” wrote Charles Michel, President of the European Council, on X.

“The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. Without Ukraine, there can be no discussions about Ukraine.”

“Appeasement will not stop Putin,” wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on X.

Ukraine also condemned the visit: “For our country, the principle ‘No agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine’ remains inviolable and we call on all states to strictly adhere to it,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

President Zelenskyj – whose relationship with Orban is frosty – did not comment publicly on the proposal.

Before Ukraine’s offensive last summer, Mr Orban warned that Ukraine could not win on the battlefield.

Since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, the Hungarian prime minister has stressed that Putin’s country is unbeatable due to its resource and troop advantage.

However, many Ukrainians are convinced that a ceasefire would only cement Russia’s control over the territories captured by Ukraine. If negotiations were to take place, they would prefer to conduct them from a position of strength rather than on the defensive.

Mr Orban has been a vocal critic of Western support for Ukraine, having previously delayed agreement on a 50 billion euro ($54 billion; £42 billion) EU aid package to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.

Tuesday’s visit to Kyiv was his first in 12 years, during which time he has met Putin repeatedly.

During Orban and Zelensky’s joint appearance, the body language between the two was not particularly cordial, and neither of them answered questions from the media after their statements.

But over the next six months, Orban will play an influential role as Europe’s figurehead as President of the Council of the European Union.

Visiting Kyiv on his second day in office, he said it was necessary to resolve past differences and focus on the future.

Image description, Viktor Orban (left) and Vladimir Putin met at a summit in China last year