Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Moscow on Friday, July 5th, in what he described as a “peace mission,” a follow-up to his visit to Kyiv earlier this week. After his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said the first step towards restoring dialogue has been made, and he would continue to strive for peace. However, the visit was harshly criticised by EU and Western leaders, who said that Hungary, the current President of the Council of the European Union, had no authority on behalf of other countries to negotiate with Russia.
Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow comes on the heels of the Hungarian PM’s negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday. The prime minister stated that as the leader of the country which holds the Presidency of the European Council (since July 1st), his first visit led to Kyiv “because the issue of peace is important not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe.”
Hungary has been the only EU member state since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago to decline sending weapons to Ukraine out of fear of prolonging the war. It has called for a ceasefire and peace talks instead and believes peace can only be achieved if dialogue is maintained with Russia, something other EU member states are unwilling to do. Hungary has criticised EU sanctions on Russia, saying they harm Europe’s economy and competitiveness—a point Viktor Orbán emphasised after his talks with Putin on Friday.
In an interview with Kossuth Rádió on Friday morning, before his visit to Moscow, Orbán said “peace will not happen of its own accord; there will be peace if someone creates peace.”
He added Hungary must know its place and weight: the big countries will take care of the issue of peace talks. “Today, however, there is no dialogue, and without a dialogue it is very difficult to see how they will move in the direction of peace,” he said. Friday’s negotiations were the first meeting of an EU leader with Putin in Moscow since April 2022, when Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited the Russian capital, two months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Before Friday’s meeting, Vladimir Putin said he was ready to discuss the “nuances” of peace proposals to end the conflict in Ukraine and was ready to hear the Hungarian leader’s position on Ukraine and to get a readout from Orbán on the views of other European partners. Putin said last month that Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow—demands Kyiv swiftly rejected. Putin reiterated on Friday that these conditions must be met in order for the war to come to a halt. He added that Moscow is striving for a complete end to the war, and would not consent to a short-term ceasefire as it would give Ukrainian forces a chance to regroup. He did, however, thank Orbán for trying to start a dialogue.
The Hungarian Prime Minister admitted that, after listening to both Zelensky and Putin, the positions of Ukraine and Russia “are far apart.” However, he said, it was important to take the first steps in restoring dialogue with Moscow, and that Hungary was the only country in Europe that “can negotiate with both participants of the conflict.”
Viktor Orbán also made it clear that despite holding the rotating EU presidency, he did not have the mandate to engage in talks on behalf of the European Union. He could, however, explore the situation to find out how far Ukraine and Russia were willing to go, and once that assessment has been made, the leaders of the EU member states could make a decision.
As we recently reported, there is now a majority of Europeans who believe that Europe’s responsibility is to push Kyiv into negotiations. However, the majority of European leaders do not agree and condemned Orbán for talking to Putin.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” President of the European Council Charles Michel said the rotating presidency, i.e., Hungary “has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU. The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. No discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said, “if you truly seek peace, you don’t shake hands with a bloody dictator, you put all your efforts to support Ukraine.” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who is set to become the next EU foreign policy chief, said Orbán was “exploiting the EU presidency position to sow confusion.”
“The decision to make this trip was made by the Hungarian side without any agreement or coordination with Ukraine,” Kyiv’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Ukraine sees its 10-point peace plan and a recent international summit based on it as the only realistic path. The summit was not attended by the other warring faction, Russia.
However, two former leaders praised Orbán. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Hungarian publication Mandiner that the first step towards peace is re-establishing communication channels. He also noted that the PM’s diplomatic efforts are crucial, highlighting that the war has no military solution and peace can only be achieved through diplomatic negotiations. Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also emphasised the need to stop the bloodshed and return to negotiations.
