Orbán’s visit was also announced to Russian journalists by Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, on Monday, Bertalan Havasi said.

The agenda of the talks includes discussing major international issues and several of the bilateral economic projects whose implementation has continued despite the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Both sides regard the Moscow summit as highly important considering the advanced level of bilateral relations, Havasi and Peskov said.

Coinciding with the Orbán-Putin meeting, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó will hold talks with Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, Havasi said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has praised Hungary’s independence as he announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet Orbán.

Peskov said Moscow was impressed with “Hungary’s independent approach to representing its interests and picking its friends”.

“It is also impressive that we could carry on with our many economic projects despite the coronavirus pandemic, and continue to discuss international affairs, including the most pressing ones,” he said.

PM Orbán Held Talks with NATO Secretary-General from Moscow by Phone

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán consulted with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg over the phone from Moscow on Monday evening, Orbán’s press chief Bertalan Havasi told MTI.

The prime minister informed Stoltenberg about his upcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for Tuesday.

Orbán and Stoltenberg discussed the security situation along the Russian-Ukrainian border and took a stand for reducing tension and resolving disputes through a dialogue, Havasi said.

Hungarian-Russian Talks to Focus on Energy, Economy

The Hungarian-Russian talks scheduled for Tuesday will focus on energy-related and economic issues that Hungary sees as a priority, such as expanding the long-term bilateral gas supply contract signed in September, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said.

“In the present situation, the greater the contract’s scope, the better for Hungary”, the foreign ministry cited Szijjártó as saying. The talks will also touch on progress in the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant, food and space industry, and cooperation in air and railway transport, he said.

Tomorrow’s summit, the twelfth such meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be “the most important yet, in view of the strained European situation”, Szijjártó said.

The minister said that settling tensions between Russia and the European Union through diplomatic means lies in Hungary’s strategic and security interest. “Historically, central Europe has always lost on conflicts between the West and the East,” he said.

Orbán has already consulted French President Emmanuel Macron, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, he said.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó noted that Hungarian-Russian economic cooperation saw its most successful year in 2021.

“Plans are already at hand to make sure that in 2022 Hungarians will continue to benefit from the government’s foreign policy, which respects its commitments towards its allies but values successful bilateral ties with Russia and other countries,” he said.

Simultaneously with the summit, which will start at noon central European time, Szijjártó is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.


MTI Photo