Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he is in no position to lead talks between Ukraine and Russia, after reports he will travel to Moscow later in the day to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Orban is critical of Western aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian occupier, and has better relations with Putin than any European leader.
He said the fact that Hungary now holds the EU presidency does not give it the mandate to lead negotiations on behalf of the bloc.
“I don’t need a mandate because I don’t represent anything,” Orban said during a regular morning radio interview on Friday, without saying whether he would travel to Moscow later in the day.
“All I do is, I go to countries where there is war, or the threat of war that threatens the European Union and Hungary, or that has bad consequences for them, and I ask questions,” he added.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, wrote in X that “the rotating leadership of the EU presidency has no 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,” said Michel.
Earlier this week, Orban met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, where he called on him to consider a ceasefire agreement to end the war with Russia sooner.
On Friday, Orban said he asked Zelensky “three out of four important questions” to understand “how far Kiev is able to go for peace”.
