“A peace mission” is how Viktor Orbán characterised his visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin, saying the European Union was “united”, and not a single European leader wanted a conflict with Russia.
“This is especially true of central Europe,” the prime minister said after five hours of talks with President Putin. “We can see from history that in times of conflict between East and West, central Europe always lost out,” he said, adding that Hungarians and central Europeans more broadly have an interest in reducing tensions between East and West and preventing a return to the Cold War. He welcomed the “dialogue under way between Russia and our Western allies”. “What we can offer is the Hungarian model,” he said. Hungary, he noted, is a member of both NATO and the European Union while enjoying “excellent ties” with Russia based on mutual respect.
Calling the situation “serious”, Orbán said there was a “wide gap” between Russia’s security demands and the willingness of NATO member states to fulfil them. But the gap “can be bridged”, he said, adding that it would be possible to sign an agreement guaranteeing peace and Russian security that was acceptable to NATO member states. He expressed hope that such an agreement could be reached through negotiations in the days or weeks ahead.
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