Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a possible peace agreement for Ukraine, which angered some European Union leaders who warned against giving in to Moscow and said he was not speaking on behalf of the EU.
Hungary took over the bloc's six-month rotating presidency on Monday. Within five days, Orban visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev and formed the "Patriots for Europe" alliance with other right-wing nationalists.
Then he went to Moscow on a "peace mission", a few days before the NATO summit where additional military aid to Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression will be discussed.
Orban's visit drew sharp criticism from other EU leaders. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that unity and determination within the 27-member EU will be key to achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
"Giving in will not stop Putin," she wrote on the X network.
Putin, who received Orban in the Kremlin, said the talks were useful but accused Ukraine of not wanting to end the two-and-a-half-year war and said his ideas on ending the conflict - which Ukraine has described as capitulation - the right way forward.
"Their application, it seems to us, could make it possible to stop hostilities and start negotiations," Putin told reporters.
"I have said several times that we have always been and remain open to discussions about a political and diplomatic solution. However, on the other hand, we hear about the reluctance to resolve issues in this way."
Putin said last month that Russia would end the conflict if Kiev gave up its NATO membership aspirations and surrendered the entire territory of the four areas that Moscow claims as its own. Kiev rejected these demands as unacceptable.
Ukraine sees its ten-point peace plan as the only realistic path and said Orban's visit to Moscow was not coordinated with Kiev.
"We remind you that for our country the principle of 'no deals on Ukraine without Ukraine' remains unshakable and we call on all countries to strictly respect it," the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
An EU diplomat said Orbán's visit confirmed that Hungary's presidency is all about promoting Budapest's interests.
Orban, a critic of Western military aid to Ukraine, said he was aware that he did not have an EU mandate for this visit, but that peace cannot be achieved "from a comfortable armchair in Brussels".
"We cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end," he wrote on Ix.
Orban told reporters after the talks that Hungary sees its temporary EU presidency as a peace mission.
"This war is also reflected in the destruction of our economic development and the decline of our competitiveness. In short, I told the president (Putin) that Europe needs peace."
Orban said his visit was the first step towards resuming dialogue.
One EU diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, said Orbán's visit confirmed that skepticism within the bloc towards the Hungarian presidency is "unfortunately justified - it all boils down to promoting Budapest's interests".
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda accused Orban of undermining the EU presidency. "If you really seek peace, don't shake hands with a bloody dictator, but make every effort to support Ukraine," X wrote online.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kalas, the future EU foreign affairs chief, said Orban was using the EU presidency to create confusion. "The EU is united, clearly with Ukraine and against Russian aggression," she said.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijártó retaliated.
"Hungary is an independent country, so I don't think we should pay attention to that kind of criticism. Time has shown... that without dialogue, without keeping communication channels open, there is no solution to this war," he said.
Hungary began its EU presidency with a striking call to "Make Europe Great Again", a copy of the slogan of former US President Donald Trump, an ally of Orbán and a fierce critic of the EU.
"We intend to leave a mark," Orban's spokesman Zoltan Kovač said yesterday before reports of a visit to Moscow emerged. "The prime minister will use the presidency in a political way."
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