European Union (EU) officials have increased their distancing from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s surprising visit to Russia on Friday.
Orban arrived in Moscow a week after Budapest took over the six-month presidency of the EU and three days after he presented a ceasefire proposal to Kyiv.
Orban and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto arrived in Russia on Friday afternoon, where Orban is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports, including one from a Hungarian government source who told Radio Free Europe about his visit plans.
Orban’s spokesperson shared a photo on social media showing Orban on a red carpet in Moscow, captioning it, “The peace mission continues. Second stop: Moscow.”
Szijjarto posted a photo of himself disembarking from the Hungarian Air Force plane, writing, “We arrived in Moscow. Another step for peace!”
EU officials may not agree.
An EU official told RFE that Orban did not notify Brussels of any planned visit to Moscow, and his office did not respond to requests for comment.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated on Friday that “Prime Minister Viktor Orban has not received a mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow.”
Just before departing for Moscow, Orban said he was not in a position to lead talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Orban is critical of Western aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invader and has better relations with Putin than any other European leader.
He stated that Hungary holding the EU presidency does not give him a mandate to lead negotiations on behalf of the bloc.
“I don’t need a mandate because I don’t represent anything,” Orban said during his regular morning radio interview on Friday.
“All I do is go to places where there is war, or a threat of war that threatens the European Union and Hungary, or that has bad consequences for them, and I ask questions,” he added.
A day before Orban’s visit to Moscow, European Council President Charles Michel wrote on X that “the rotating presidency of the EU does not have a mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU.”
“The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. There are no discussions about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Michel said.
Earlier this week, Orban met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, where he urged him to consider a ceasefire agreement to end the war with Russia sooner.
On Friday, Orban said he asked Zelensky “three of the four important questions” to understand “how far Kyiv is willing to go for peace.”
Orban visited Russia in 2022 but did not meet with Putin. However, they have met in other locations since then.
