Hungary’s Orbán travels to Moscow, days after Kyiv trip

4 months ago 22

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is expected to travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, only a few days after travelling to Kyiv, to mark the start of the six-month rotating Hungarian presidency of the European Council on Monday (1 July).

A few days after Orbán travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he may make another trip to meet Putin in Moscow, according to a post by VSquare journalist Szabolcs Panyi on X, which was further relayed by Euractiv’s partner Telex.

According to sources, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is expected to join him for the visit.

“The aim of the Hungarian presidency is to contribute to solving the challenges ahead of the European Union. That’s why my first trip was to Kyiv,” Orbán wrote on Facebook after he arrived there on Tuesday (2 July).

Last week, the EU opened formal membership talks with Kyiv at its summit in Brussels, giving Ukraine a morale-lifting boost, although a long and tough road still lies ahead, before it can join the bloc.

Asked by journalists on Thursday 4 July, Hungarian officials did not confirm the possible visit to Moscow.

Orbán last met Putin in Beijing in October 2023 at the Belt and Road Forum, where he was the only EU politician to travel.

According to Telex, the fact that the prime minister is meeting Putin just a few days after his visit to Kiev, indicates that he still considers it important to maintain his relations towards Russia, which his critics considers to be pro-Russian.

Orbán usually defends his relations with Russia, by saying that dialogue is necessary even in times of war. Budapest also argues that Hungary is heavily dependent on Russia for energy, therefore has no interest in hostilities.

However, over the past 14 years in power, Orbán has not done much to reduce Hungary’s dependence on Russia.

[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski/Rajnish Singh]