Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to the Russian capital, Moscow, on Friday to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Orbán said this in a video on Facebook, AFP news agency reports.
- I am going there to ensure that Hungary's energy supply is secured for the winter and the coming year at an affordable price, he said.
According to Reuters, Orbán also said that he would discuss the war in Ukraine with Putin. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, confirmed to the state Russian news agency Tass that a meeting is planned for Friday between Putin and Orbán. It is not clear when on the day it will be closer.
Viktor Orbán has maintained close contact with Vladimir Putin's Russia in recent years despite the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. There are also still strong economic ties between the two countries, as Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas.
Has opposed EU sanctions
Orbán has repeatedly been a stumbling block for the EU when it comes to sanctioning Russia and reducing its dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, which are a very important export for the Russian economy.
Earlier in November, Hungary was exempted from US sanctions against buying oil and gas from Russia. This happened after Orbán had visited President Donald Trump in Washington D.C., where the two countries also signed a pact to cooperate on nuclear energy.
In addition to energy security, Ukraine is also on the agenda in Moscow. Orbán has long said that he would like to host a peace summit in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. At one point it looked like it might become a reality, but then the meeting plans were shelved.
Since Viktor Orbán came to power in Hungary in 2010, he has met Vladimir Putin 15 times. Friday's meeting will be the fourth since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
/ritzau/
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