Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian leader Vladimir Putin discussed the prospect of peace in Ukraine in a phone call on December 11.
In a call which Orbán claimed lasted an hour, the two leaders talked about finding a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine.
“These are the most dangerous weeks of the Russia Ukraine War,” Orbán wrote on his X page, “We are taking every possible diplomatic step to argue in favor of a ceasefire and peace talks.”
The Kremlin issued a statement confirming that Hungary had initiated the phone call. According to the statement, Orbán expressed interest in collaborating with Russia in searching for a political and diplomatic solution to the war, an end to which Kyiv is obstructing due to its “destructive” policies which “exclude the possibility of a peaceful settlement.”
Orbán is the second European leader to hold a phone call with Putin over the course of the last month after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke with the Russian leader on November 15. Orbán previously met with Putin on a widely-condemned visit to Moscow in July.
Hungary has repeatedly expressed disapproval of the provision of aid to Ukraine in resisting Russia’s invasion, which he previously described as a war between “two Slavic countries,” opposed its accession to the EU, and has remained a major buyer of Russian energy.
In July, Orbán proposed reinstating diplomatic relations with Russia to the European Council.
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