EU denies Orban’s visit to Russia
5 July 2024 16:24
Hungarian President Viktor Orban immediately left for Moscow after his visit to Kyiv. There, he has already met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
The Hungarian prime minister called his visit to Moscow “the second stage of a peacekeeping mission”.
At the same time, the photo Orban used to illustrate this post on social media showed the logo of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union. Thus, readers may get the impression that Orban is visiting Moscow as a representative of the European Union.
To avoid this, EU officials were quick to state that Orban is making this visit in his capacity as President of Hungary, not as a representative of the European Union.
In particular, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that this visit is taking place exclusively within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia.
“Hungary is currently an EU member state that holds the presidency of the Council until 31 December 2024. This does not imply any external representation of the Union… Prime Minister Orban has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow. The EU’s position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is reflected in many conclusions of the European Council. This position excludes official contacts between the EU and President Putin,”
– borrell said in an official statement.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, although not a European official, but an influential person in the EU, also disowned Orban’s initiative.
“Viktor Orban is visiting Putin as the prime minister of Hungary. In foreign policy, the European Council is represented by Charles Michel. The EU’s position is very clear: we condemn Russia’s war of aggression. Ukraine can count on our support,”
– scholz wrote in X.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that Hungary had not coordinated or agreed the decision with Ukraine in any way.
“For our country, the principle of ‘no agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine’ remains unshakable. We call on all states to strictly adhere to it,”
– the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
As it turned out, the European officials’ “reassurance” was not superfluous – at his meeting with Orban, Putin mentioned that the leader of the EU presidency had arrived in Moscow.
Hungary vs Ukraine
Orbán’s visits to Kyiv and Moscow take place against the backdrop of complicated Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and at the beginning of Hungary’s EU presidency. Among other things, Hungary is delaying the adoption of legislation that would allow Ukraine to receive up to €2 billion from the EU for weapons at the expense of profits from frozen Russian assets.
After a lengthy debate, EU member states agreed in May to use the proceeds of about €190 billion of frozen Russian assets held in the Belgian depository Euroclear to buy weapons for Ukraine. However, Hungary opposed this, refusing to provide unanimous EU support for each payment to Ukraine. At the same time, Hungary does not seem to object in general, but has concerns about the automation of payments.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Hungary took over the EU presidency for six months on 1 July, which gives it more influence and makes it even harder for EU officials to convince it.
At the same time, Hungary will not block NATO’s decisions on Ukraine, but it will not support them either.
Meanwhile, the EU is looking for a new strategy: how to help Ukraine without Hungary’s consent.
