Merz says Orban’s talks in Moscow not sanctioned by EU but not approved

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s talks in Moscow were not approved by EU leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

"We have long been well aware of Viktor Orban’s position. This is not his first visit to Moscow," Merz said at a joint news conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in Berlin.

The German chancellor recalled that Orban had visited Moscow during Hungary’s presidency in the European Council last year. "He travels there without a European mandate and our approval. There is nothing new about this. He has his own vision of how to stop this war," he said, adding that this vision "has not yet materialized."

"If someone has better ideas than ours, this should only be welcomed but I don’t think the outcome will be better than last time. Regrettably," Merz noted.

At talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday, Orban said that Hungary is guided by its own foreign policy course and is not yielding to external pressure due to its cooperation with Russia.