Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke by telephone on Wednesday about the situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced, a call denounced by kyiv as a blow to European unity.
In a press release, the Russian presidency affirmed that Viktor Orbán, during this exchange, had said he was seeking a “political-diplomatic” solution to the conflict, in particular thanks to “his contacts with Western leaders”. For his part, Vladimir Putin denounced “the destructive line of the kyiv regime” which excludes a “peaceful resolution”, again according to this press release from the Kremlin, which specifies that the two leaders also spoke about the situation in Syria.
Hours later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Viktor Orbán of undermining European “unity” in the face of Russia's assault on Ukraine by having this call with Vladimir Putin. “No one should promote their own image to the detriment of unity” and “unity in Europe has always been the key” to putting an end to the conflict, launched Volodymyr Zelensky. “There cannot be discussions about the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, without Ukraine,” he added, in a message on X.
“We all hope that Viktor Orbán is not going to call Assad to Moscow to listen to his lessons for hours,” Volodymyr Zelensky once again mocked, in reference to the recent flight to Russia of the deposed Syrian leader.
On Monday, Viktor Orbán spoke with US President-elect Donald Trump at his residence in Florida, continuing his “mission for peace” in Ukraine, according to Budapest. Viktor Orbán, who remains close to the Kremlin, is one of the rare EU leaders to maintain long-standing contacts with his “friend” Donald Trump, whom he has already met twice this year and whom he supports since 2016.
Saying he was seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine by meeting officials from both camps, Viktor Orbán irritated his European partners in July by going to see Vladimir Putin in Moscow, without prior consultation.
During Wednesday's call, Putin and Orban also discussed “economic and commercial” cooperation between Moscow and Budapest, according to the Kremlin, including “mutually beneficial projects in the energy field.” Hungary continues to import around two-thirds of its gas from Russia.
