Orban's meeting with Putin on Ukraine peace deal is 'appeasement', EU leaders say

FRANCE 24

5 July 2024 at 6:24 am·1-min read

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the most Russia-friendly of all EU leaders, met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine. The trip, which comes just a few days after Budapest took over the rotating EU presidency, has been slammed by the rest of the 27-nation bloc, who say it could undermine the EU’s stance on the more than two-year-long conflict.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held talks on a potential Ukrainian peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, angering some European Union leaders who warned against appeasing Moscow and said he did not speak for the EU.

Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the bloc on Monday. Five days in and Orban has visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv and formed the “Patriots for Europe” alliance with other right-wing nationalists.

Then he went to Moscow on a “peace mission”, days before a NATO summit that will address further military aid for Ukraine against what the Western defence alliance has called Russia’s “unprovoked war of aggression”.

Orban’s trip drew strong rebukes from fellow EU leaders and Ukraine said it had not been consulted beforehand.

(Reuters)

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