Polish president refuses to meet with Hungarian prime minister after his visit to Putin
30 November 2025 17:14
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has canceled his meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban because of his visit to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the Polish president’s office said. The bilateral talks were to take place in Esthergom after the Visegrad Group summit, where the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary intend to discuss security and regional cooperation, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“In connection with Orban’s visit to Moscow and its context, Navrotsky decided to limit the program of his visit to Hungary to the summit only,” said Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau of the Presidential Office.
He emphasized that Navrotsky “has consistently advocated for finding real ways to end the war in Ukraine unleashed by the Russian Federation” and relies on the legacy of President Lech Kaczynski, who emphasized that “Europe’s security depends on solidarity.”
The meeting was canceled after criticism from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“Orban visits Putin, Navrotsky visits Orban. Chaos in the negotiations on the Witkoff plan and a political crisis in Kyiv. A fatal combination,” the prime minister said.
Navrotsky’s two-day visit to Hungary will begin on December 3.
Orban visited Moscow on November 28. His conversation with Putin lasted almost four hours. After the meeting, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Russia had guaranteed the continuation of oil and gas supplies and the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant. Budapest currently buys 80% of its hydrocarbons and 100% of its nuclear fuel from Moscow. This brings the Russian budget about $5 billion annually.
At the meeting, Orban again expressed his readiness to provide a platform for peace talks on Ukraine. Putin, in turn, emphasized the Hungarian prime minister’s “balanced position” on the war and reiterated his interest in a summit with US President Donald Trump in Budapest, a meeting that fell through because of Russia’s unwillingness to give up its maximalist demands.
Orban went to Moscow “without a European mandate,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized. He also noted that after a similar visit by the Hungarian prime minister in July 2024, Russia intensified its strikes against Ukraine.
on November 28, Orban gave an interview in which he said that Ukraine should accept the loss of territory and the role of a “buffer state” between Russia and NATO. Previously, he has repeatedly opposed the EU’s attempts to stop imports of Russian oil and gas and blamed Europe for the war unleashed by Putin.
This week, Orban sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for immediate and unconditional peace talks with the Kremlin. He emphasized that he does not support further EU funding for Ukraine and the use of frozen Russian assets for the same purpose.
