From Le Figaro with AFP and Portal
Published 4 hours ago, updated 58 minutes ago
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The Hungarian prime minister met his Russian counterpart in China on the sidelines of an international forum organized by Xi Jinping.
Hungary never wanted to oppose Russia, but wanted to build close relations with it, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, October 17, in a speech broadcast via a translator on Russian public television.
Viktor Orban told Vladimir Putin that Hungary was trying to salvage bilateral contacts amid international tensions, as the two leaders met ahead of the start of an international forum of the Belt and Road Initiative in China.
Putin is satisfied with his Hungarian interlocutor
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed satisfaction at having Hungary as an interlocutor in Europe at a meeting in China with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, who is trying to maintain relations with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine .
“Due to the current geopolitical situation, the opportunities to maintain contacts and build relationships are very limited. But it is satisfactory that (Russia) has relations with many European countries, and Hungary is one of them,” Vladimir Putin told Viktor Orban, according to images on Russian television.
Tense relations between Hungary and Ukraine
Hungary has agreed to all sanctions decided by the EU to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, but Viktor Orban has tried to soften some of them and adopted a conciliatory stance towards Russia, which remains a major source of its energy needs.
The Hungarian Prime Minister also has difficult relations with Ukraine. For its part, the Hungarian agency MTI, citing the government, pointed out that the two heads of state and government had discussed “gas and oil deliveries as well as nuclear energy”.
According to a message posted on Facebook, Viktor Orban also raised the issue of a ceasefire in Ukraine. “It is crucial that the flow of refugees, the sanctions and the fighting in our neighboring country stop,” he said.
“An extremely difficult position”
He said he was “in an extremely difficult situation” while Hungary “never wants to confront Russia” and “maintains its cooperation,” according to comments on television. Her last interview was dated February 1, 2022, three weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has now become a pariah in the eyes of the West and, with the exception of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the Russian president stopped meeting with heads of state and government of EU countries in April 2022.
His country is the target of sanctions affecting many sectors of the economy, and most European countries have sought to shed their energy dependence on Moscow.
Vladimir Putin is also forced to limit his travel abroad because there is an arrest warrant against him from the International Criminal Court for his involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children since the start of the war.
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