Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Moscow on Friday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Updated at 02:27 p.m.)
The visit by Orbán came just a few days after his similarly unannounced visit to Ukraine, where he held a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and suggested that Ukraine should consider an immediate ceasefire with Russia. In a welcoming address to the press before the meeting, the Hungarian prime minister recalled that this was the 14th bilateral meeting with the Russian president since 2009. He added that this time was more special than the previous ones, as he last visited Moscow in February 2022, before the war.
However, the Hungarian prime minister’s visit to Moscow drew condemnation from Ukraine and European leaders. The European Union’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell preemptively pointed out the Hungarian leader’s trip was not an official EU visit. But the Hungarian prime minister reacted to the criticism in the following way:
The number of countries that can talk to both warring sides is diminishing. Hungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can speak to everyone.
Moreover, the prime minister stated he would like to take the opportunity to go to Russia to exchange views with the Russian President on important issues and to receive his point of view on some matters of importance to Europe. Russian state media reported that in a three-hour closed-door meeting, the two leaders discussed “the shortest path to peace,” according to Orbán. He also published a video following his trip to Moscow.
Orbán’s spokesperson, for his part, described Friday’s trip as a “peace mission” but gave no other details about its purpose or plans. The prime minister thanked the Russian president for hosting him “even in such difficult circumstances” as his meeting with Russian leader occured “at a time when Europe really needs peace.” Orbán said:
Even if the rotating EU-Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the E.U., we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end. We will serve as an important tool in making the first steps toward peace.
In the interview with the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche, he highly praised the meeting with Russian leader, saying Vladimir Putin showed the top level of negotiation with his words, noting the president’s high quality as a politician. The Hungarian leader also paid tribute to the fact that the leaders of both countries adhere to co-operation based on mutual respect, which was reinforced by the 2009 agreement.
Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union as an EU member state until 31 December. The prime pinister of Hungary has repeatedly emphasised the major task in the coming six months of Budapest’s presidency of the EU Council will be fighting for peace.
Western countries set groundwork for World War III – Turkey’s Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his return from Kazakhstan there were some countries in the West preparing the ground for World War III, but he did not specify which countries, according to News.am. He said:
“It is obvious that arms sellers need money. And the market for arms sellers is the West,” Erdogan told reporters on the plane, returning to Turkey from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Erdogan said he had held talks with Putin on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan and said he believed a just peace that suits both sides was possible, the Turkish presidential administration said, Reuters reported.
“We have held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky since the first day of the conflict. During these negotiations, we had the opportunity to discuss questions about ‘where our mediation can go, how effective it can be.’ Basically, we discussed the mediation issue again during my meeting with Russian President Mr Putin,” the Turkish leader said.
Turkey is a member of NATO, but unlike other NATO leaders who have imposed sanctions against Putin’s government, Erdogan has tried to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine throughout the conflict. Furthermore, he added that Turkey expects to become a permanent member of the SCO, but this may take time. He wants to further develop Turkey’s relations with Russia and China also within the framework of this organisation.
