On Thursday, July 18, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s diplomatic trip to Moscow with his “peace mission”, Radiosvoboda reports.
This so-called peace mission was nothing more than a mission of appeasement, – she said in the European Parliament.
Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that “Russia is betting that Europe and the West will become soft, and some in Europe are playing along”.
She also noted that Orbán met with Vladimir Putin in Russia just two days before Russian missiles hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv.
This strike was not a mistake. It was a message, a terrible message from the Kremlin to all of us, – she said.
Earlier, the President of the European Commission canceled the visit of the European Commission board to Hungary. In addition, “given the recent events that marked the beginning of Hungary’s presidency (in the EU Council)”, the European Commission, according to von der Leyen’s decision, will be represented at the level of senior civil servants only at informal meetings of the Council.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Ukraine, Russia, and China after his country became the EU Council’s presidency until the end of 2024. Orbán himself called his trips a “peace mission”, during which he discussed with the leaders of the countries the conditions for peace between Moscow and Kyiv. In particular, Orbán suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy consider a ceasefire and the start of negotiations with Russia. After the meeting, Orbán said that only “serious strong alliances”, including the United States, China, and the EU, could mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the Financial Times, a group of EU leaders criticized Orbán’s visit to Moscow and suggested drafting a joint letter expressing outrage at Orbán’s “unauthorized foreign policy forays” during Budapest’s presidency.
