With Brussels fuming, Putin welcomes Orbán as EU leader

” I go to your disposal, and I comprehend that you may understand what my positions are on this concern and what propositions we have actually made,” the Russian leader told Orbán. “I am ready to talk about all facets of the circumstance, and I anticipate that you will certainly show me your placement and the point of view of the European companions.”

“Since 2009, it’s our 11th face-to-face discussion. Yet it’s a more unique occasion than the previous ones. As you stated, Hungary holds the presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 July 1,” the Hungarian leader claimed.

Orbán previously appeared to acknowledge that he has no mandate to bargain. “What I’m doing might appear like a settlement layout since we sit behind a table and discuss issues, but we do not bargain,” he stated in a meeting with Hungarian state radio Friday morning. “That’s why I do not also require a mandate due to the fact that I don’t represent anything.”

Still, his EU counterparts considered it differently. As Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson put it: “It sends the wrong signal to the outdoors and is an insult to the Ukrainian individuals’s fight for their flexibility.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin provided a warm Kremlin welcome to Viktor Orbán on Friday, greeting the Hungarian leader as the “president of the Council of the European Union,” even as Brussels disavowed that Orbán was representing the 27 EU countries.

“I need to confess that the variety of nations that have the ability to talk with both parties in this war is gradually disappearing,” Orbán stated in his inviting comments. “We are gradually reaching the point where Hungary is the only nation in Europe that can speak with all the other countries. And I wanted to take advantage of this situation to talk with you about issues that are very important for Europe.”

As you claimed, Hungary holds the presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 July 1,” the Hungarian leader stated.

Orbán jetted off to Moscow simply days after Hungary took control of the six-month revolving presidency of the Council of the EU. The various other member states have been virtually unanimous in condemning the trip, insisting that the Hungarian leader has no permission from the bloc to negotiate.

“I understand that you have actually come here currently not only as our companion, yet likewise as the head of state of the Council of the European Union,” Putin said in his welcoming. “I wish we’ll be able to talk about our reciprocal relations in these hard conditions, and we’ll speak about the most significant European situation, the circumstance in Ukraine,” he included.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz worried that Orbán was “taking a trip to Putin as Hungarian head of state,” not as an agent of the European Council. That resembled the message from European Council President Charles Michel, who wrote on X: “The EU turning presidency has no mandate to involve with Russia in behalf of the EU.”

Orbán said earlier Friday that he was continuing a “peace mission” that additionally included a browse through to Kyiv on Tuesday, where the Hungarian leader met with Ukrainian Head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg claimed there were “no indicators Putin was ready to negotiate for tranquility.”

“I have to admit that the number of countries that are able to talk to both events in this war is gradually vanishing,” Orbán stated in his welcoming statements. Orbán earlier seemed to acknowledge that he has no mandate to bargain. “What I’m doing might look like a settlement style because we sit behind a table and talk about concerns, yet we don’t bargain,” he claimed in an interview with Hungarian state radio Friday early morning.

Estonian Head Of State Kaja Kallas, who is in line to be the EU’s next chief diplomat, said that Orbán “in no other way represents the EU or the EU’s settings” in going to Moscow. “He is exploiting the EU presidency placement to sow confusion,” she said.