Putin's Hungarian ally Orban draws EU ire over 'peace mission' to Moscow

• Russia's closest European ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has drawn the EU's ire over his Friday trip to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
• Orban, whose country assumed the EU's rotating presidency on July 1, is a self-declared "peacemaker" whose administration has repeatedly opposed — but mostly allowed to pass — EU and NATO military and financial aid measures in support of war-torn neighbor Ukraine.
• EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell on Friday said that Orban's visit to Moscow falls "exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia."

Russia's closest European ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has drawn ire from the EU over his Friday trip to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Orban, whose country assumed the EU's rotating presidency on July 1, is a self-declared "peacemaker" whose administration has repeatedly opposed — but mostly allowed to pass — EU and NATO military and financial aid measures in support of war-torn neighbor Ukraine.

Hungary has retained working relations with Russia despite most other Western countries completely cutting ties with the nation in response to its February 2022 invasion. Setting a landmark precedent, NATO last month agreed to allow Budapest's nonparticipation in the coalition's deepening support of Ukraine — in exchange for Hungary not blocking such initiatives.

Hungary will soon become the only country in Europe able to carry out dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine, Orban told Putin during the Friday visit, according to comments reported by Reuters and Russian state news agency Tass.

The trip to Moscow is the second stop on Orban's self-described "peace mission," after the Hungarian leader carried out his