Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán's visit to Moscow angers EU ally

Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán's visit to Moscow

Brussels — its fresh air First visit Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Moscow on Friday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin - just days after Hungary took over the bloc's rotating presidency of the European Union's collective foreign policy. A great break with

Even before Orban's plane touched down on Friday, the trip was met with strong disapproval from Brussels.

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E.U. The Hungarian leader's trip is not an official E.U. business and takes place in the framework of relations between Russia and Hungary.

But with Hungary it is now held. A rotating presidency From the Council of the European Union, the trip represents a diplomatic victory for Putin, who has repeatedly accused NATO countries, particularly the United States, of prolonging the war he started. Putin also accused him that he did not force Ukraine for negotiating the surrender of territory that Russia has seized.

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"Welcome to Moscow, Russia," Putin said. "I understand that you  came this time as our long-term partner, as the President of the European Council. I hope this is the opportunity to exchange ideas  to develop relations in this critical situation, and  to talk about the  development of the biggest European crisis on the Ukrainian track.

In a three-hour meeting, the two leaders discussed the "quickest way to peace." After the meeting, Orban said , according to Russian state media. From Moscow's point of view, this path usually means that Ukraine must accede to Russian demands to annex about a fifth of Ukraine's autonomous territory.

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Putin on Friday reiterated his demands for an end to hostilities, including the surrender of territory, which Ukrainian officials have repeatedly dismissed as a non-starter. The Russian leader claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not willing to stop fighting because it would force the country to hold presidential elections and to end martial law.

Orban has repeatedly broken with other E.U. And NATO leaders have called on Ukraine to consider making concessions to Russia, which has refused to allow donated weapons to transit through Hungary to Ukraine, which shares a long border with Ukraine. . Orban has also repeatedly slowed the E.U.'s efforts to support Kiev and advance Ukraine's bid to join the bloc.

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Orban's spokesman described Friday's trip as a "peace mission" but offered no other details about its purpose or plans.

Orban, after meeting with Putin, acknowledged the difficulty of reaching a peace deal, "We need to work for it," he said. "The locations are very different."