Polish prime minister Donald Tusk tweeted, "The rumours about your visit to Moscow cannot be true PM Orbán, or can they?"

His Finnish counterpart Petteri Orpo described the news of the visit as "disturbing" saying Orbán’s visit shows "disregard" for the duties of the presidency and "undermines" the interests of the European Union.

More: 
EuroNews

Orbán Has Talks About Peace with Putin in Moscow

President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán exchanged views in the Kremlin on how to resolve the war in Ukraine and develop bilateral relations.

In his greetings in front of the press Orbán thanked Putin for receiving him “even under these difficult circumstances”.

He said Hungary was “slowly becoming the only country in Europe” that could speak to both warring sides.Orbán said he wanted
to make use of this situation to discuss important matters with the Russian president and to gauge his stance on issues
that are important for Europe.

Commenting on the impending closed-door part of the meeting, Putin said he hoped “that we will have the opportunity to exchange views on building bilateral relations in this difficult situation and, of course, to talk about the prospects for the development of the biggest European crisis, I mean in the Ukrainian direction”.

Regarding finding a solution to the crisis in Ukraine, Putin added: “Of course, I am ready to discuss the details with you regarding this issue and I expect that you will also outline the position of your European partners.”

He also touched on bilateral ties, regretting that trade turnover was down 35%. “All in all, we have work to do and we will realise the projects,” he added.

Orbán: Someone Must Make Peace for It to Happen

Peace will not happen by itself, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio in an interview.

“Peace will come when someone makes it,” he said in connection with the war in Ukraine. Orbán said that Hungary, as the holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, did not have the mandate to negotiate on behalf of the European Union.

“This never occurred to me,” he said. He said his task was to demonstrate how the situation has unfolded in respect of how far each party could go, and once this had been revealed the leaders of the 27 EU member states may come to a decision.

Henceforth, those authorised to negotiate “will do so”.

“But this is still very far off,” the prime minister said. “We can only take the first steps on the road to peace.”

Orbán said that Europe should hold the compass of peace and humanity, humane thinking, and pursue a humane foreign policy, and it was likely that it could do more to move towards peace.

Commenting on his recent meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Orbán said Hungary knew its place and “the big countries” would handle the big peace negotiations, but in a vacuum of dialogue it was “very hard to imagine how to move in the direction of peace without it”.

Menczer: Orbán on 'Peace Mission'

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a on a “peace mission”, Tamás Menczer, the communications director of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance, said.

“A ceasefire is possible,” Menczer said on Facebook. “It is a matter of will. We have to talk about it and work for it.” In a video message, Menczer said those who said a ceasefire and peace talks were impossible “are simply lying”.

“Why? Because a ceasefire is merely a matter of political decision which has to be made by politicians, whether it be Moscow, Washington, Kyiv or Brussels,” Menczer said.

​​​​​​​“And politicians can indeed make decisions, and they do. They can decide the direction they want to go in.” “So a ceasefire and peace talks are a question of political decision which is definitely possible and a matter of will,” he added.

White House Responds To Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Trip To Moscow: ‘We Are Concerned’

During a press briefing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered reporter questions on Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban's trip to Moscow ahead of the NATO summit. ​​​​​​​

Photo: PM's Press Office Vivien Cher Benko

*********************************

You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: 
Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoop’s groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters

Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here!