International Courant
Budapest, Hungary — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orbán’s press secretary stated Friday, a uncommon go to by a European chief to Russia for the reason that nation invaded Ukraine greater than two years in the past.
Orban’s go to comes simply days after he made the same unannounced journey to Ukraine, the place he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and proposed that Ukraine comply with a direct ceasefire with Russia.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, who’s broadly considered having the warmest relations with Vladimir Putin amongst all leaders of the European Unionhas routinely blocked, delayed or weakened EU efforts to assist Ukraine and impose sanctions on Moscow over the conflict. He has lengthy known as for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, however with out outlining what which may imply for the nation’s territorial integrity or future safety.
This stance is irritating to Hungary’s EU and NATO allies, who typically view the Russian invasion as a violation of worldwide regulation and a menace to the safety of Japanese European international locations.
In an e mail Friday, Orbán’s press secretary, Bertalan Havasi, stated the Hungarian chief’s journey was “a part of his peace mission” — reflecting the peacemaker picture the populist chief has cultivated since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Hungarian International Minister Péter Szijjártó additionally joined the journey to Moscow, in response to a put up on his Fb web page.
Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council earlier this month, a largely formal function that can be utilized to form the bloc’s coverage agenda. Orbán has stated he desires to make use of the presidency to push for an finish to combating in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to a Russian state tv reporter on Friday that Ukraine will likely be among the many subjects on the agenda when Orbán and Putin meet.
EU officers have slammed Orbán for his go to to Putin, one thing just one different European chief has finished for the reason that invasion started.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited Moscow in April 2022, just a few weeks after the invasion, and stated he had raised the difficulty of conflict crimes allegedly dedicated by Russian forces in Ukraine.
EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell stated in an announcement that Orbán’s go to to Moscow “takes place solely within the context of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia.”
“Prime Minister Orbán has not obtained a mandate from the EU Council to go to Moscow. The EU place on Russia’s conflict of aggression in opposition to Ukraine is mirrored in lots of conclusions of the European Council. That place excludes official contacts between the EU and President Putin. So the Hungarian Prime Minister doesn’t signify the EU in any method,” Borrell stated.
He added that Putin has been indicted by the Worldwide Legal Court docket and an arrest warrant has been issued for his function within the forcible deportation of kids from Ukraine to Russia.
Chatting with Hungarian state radio simply earlier than his departure on Friday morning, Orbán stated he was conscious that his nation’s presidency of the EU “doesn’t give us the precise to barter on behalf of anybody.”
With out mentioning stories of his deliberate journey to Moscow, he stated his journey to Kiev earlier this week “didn’t require a mandate, as a result of I don’t signify something. All I do is go to these locations the place there’s conflict or the specter of conflict that has adverse penalties for Europe and Hungary.”
Different EU officers have expressed dismay that Orbán undertook the journey unilaterally and with out the approval of the bloc’s member states.
Estonian International Minister Margus Tsahkna stated in an announcement that there was “no justification” for the go to, and that the Hungarian chief “doesn’t signify the European Union and doesn’t have the approval of EU member states, together with Estonia.”
European Council President Charles Michel stated on social media platform X on Thursday that “the rotating EU presidency has no mandate to have interaction with Russia on behalf of the EU.”
“The European Council is obvious: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the sufferer. There will be no discussions on Ukraine with out Ukraine,” Michel wrote.
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Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia.
