Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, July 5, 2024. PHOTO: Alexander NEMENOV / AFP / Profimedia
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will travel to Moscow on Friday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to government sources involved in the preparation of the trip, reports Euronews.com, citing the VSquare publication. Over the weekend, the Budapest leader urged the European Union to back the US-proposed peace plan and engage in direct talks with Russia.
Information about Viktor Orban's planned trip comes from Hungarian government sources involved in preparing the trip, according to European investigative publication VSquare.
The Hungarian government has yet to confirm the visit, with Budapest saying it will inform the public of Viktor Orban's schedule in due course.
The agenda of the meeting is not yet known. Viktor Orban maintained relations with Vladimir Putin even after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and the two leaders have been in constant contact, meeting in person three times since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of the neighboring state in February 2022.
Viktor Orban's appeal to the EU
Hungary's prime minister has said on several occasions that he wants an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and peace talks to end the war. Over the weekend, he urged the European Union to support US peace efforts and engage in direct talks with Russia.
“Europeans must immediately and unconditionally support the US President's peace initiative,” Viktor Orban said in a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday.
“In addition to supporting the US president, we must launch, without delay, autonomous and direct diplomatic negotiations with Russia,” the Hungarian leader added.
Hungary imports large quantities of Russian oil and gas, and during a visit to Washington in November Viktor Orban secured an exemption from secondary tariffs targeting Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
