“In view of Prime Minister Orbán’s surprising and uncoordinated trip to Moscow, a serious and honest personal discussion between the two foreign ministers would have been very important. We regret the cancellation,” the official said, adding that the trip would be rescheduled for a later date.
A Hungarian official said that the German foreign ministry and its embassy in Budapest had been informed about the reason of the postponement, but declined to name it publicly.
On Friday, Scholz joined other EU leaders in slamming Orbán for meeting with Putin, stressing that the Hungarian leader — whose country took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU at the start of this month — was “travelling to Putin as Hungarian prime minister,” not as an envoy of the EU.
Baerbock, who had planned to visit Budapest for the first time since taking office in December 2021, has a track record of being particularly vocal with her criticism toward Hungary, but also other countries like China.
Scholz also rebuked Orbán last month by denying the Hungarian leader for the second time in a row to be received with military honors and a press conference at the chancellery in Berlin.
