Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine war, drawing criticism from EU leaders against appeasement.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss peace in Ukraine, drawing warnings from fellow European Union leaders against appeasement and an insistence that he did not speak for the EU. Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the bloc on Monday. Five days in and Orban has visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and formed the 'Patriots for Europe' alliance with other right-wing nationalists.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that only unity and determination within the 27-nation EU would pave the way to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine'. 'Appeasement will not stop Putin,' she said on X. Putin, who received Orban in the Kremlin, told him that he was ready to discuss the 'nuances' of peace proposals to end the two-and-a-half-year-old war.
An EU diplomat said that, in Orban's decision to meet Putin in Moscow, Hungary's presidency of the EU - which will run until Dec. 31 - had effectively ended before it had really begun. 'The skepticism of EU member states was unfortunately justified – it's all about promoting Budapest's interests,' the diplomat said, asking for anonymity due to political sensitivities. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda accused Orban of undermining the EU presidency.
The EU presidency's role is to chair meetings of member states, seek consensus and broker agreements on legislation with the European Parliament. At a time of transition, with a new European Commission only set to take office in November, analysts said Budapest's actions at the forefront of EU policymaking were likely to be restricted.
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