Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Orban arrived in Moscow on Friday, July 5, 2024, for talks with Vladimir Putin, days after making his first visit to Kyiv, as the Hungarian Prime Minister attempts to position himself as a peace broker between Russia and Ukraine.

The visit also came in the week that Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency until the end of the year.

Hungary’s six-month EU presidency gives the central European country influence over the bloc’s agenda and priorities for those months.

Putin said that he wanted to take the opportunity to “discuss the nuances that have developed” over the conflict with Orban.

Orban’s visit is the first by an EU leader to Russia since the Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, made a fruitless effort to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion in April 2022.

Orban acknowledged before his unannounced trip to Moscow that he was not representing the EU, signalling his personal ambition to find a solution to the 28-month war.

“You cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels. Even if 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.We will serve as an important tool in making the first steps towards peace. This is what our peace mission is about.”
Viktor Orban

Brussels was quick to denounce the visit, saying Orban did not speak for the EU and had “not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow.”

“Prime minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow takes place, exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia … The Hungarian prime minister is thus not representing the EU in any form,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, wrote in a statement.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO had been informed about Orban’s trip to Moscow in advance.

He added that Orban was traveling in his capacity as Hungarian Prime Minister and will not represent NATO.

Orbán’s trip to Moscow drew strong rebukes from fellow EU leaders and will cause further anxiety in Brussels and in EU member states.

Citing Orban, who said the trip would “serve as an important tool in making the first step towards peace,” the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said on social media, “The question is in whose hands this tool is.”

The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, noted on X, “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the bloc’s “clear message is that Ukraine can count on our solidarity, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin cannot count on our solidarity and support waning.”

A Step Towards Peace In Ukraine

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said that Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban’s visit to Moscow and his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could mark a step towards peace in Ukraine.

“Arrival in Moscow. Another step towards peace!” Szijjarto, who is accompanying Orban on his trip to Moscow, wrote on Facebook.

Tamas Menczer, spokesman for the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance ruling party, also said that the Premier’s efforts could produce positive results.

“What Viktor Orban is doing is a peace mission. A ceasefire is possible. It’s a matter of will. We need to talk about it and take action,” Menczer stated.