PM Fiala: Orban does not represent Czech or EU interests in Moscow

Viktor Orban does not represent Czech or EU interests in Moscow nor does he have any mandate to negotiate on behalf of either, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wrote on social media site X following the Hungarian prime minister's bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Mr Fiala reiterated that the Czech position on the war in Ukraine is clear in that Putin is the aggressor and that Czechia stands with Ukraine.

Hungary took over the rotating six-month presidency of the EU Council on Monday and soon afterwards Orban met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday. According to Reuters, Mr Orban described his trip to Moscow as a continuation of the "peace mission" which he started with his visit to the Ukrainian capital. Orban arrived in Moscow on Friday morning to hold talks with Putin and following the meeting, the Russian News Agency TASS reported that Putin had said the two had discussed possibilities for settling the war in Ukraine. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, emphasised that Orban's trip is a bilateral visit without an EU mandate.

Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hungary maintains good relations with the country, refusing to provide military aid to Kyiv and criticising the EU's sanctions on Russia. Orban is one of the few Western leaders to have met with Putin since the beginning of the invasion. Before the meeting, Orban said that Hungary is the last European country that can still have a dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine.