When asked by POLITICO whether Orbán will be meeting with Putin, a Hungarian presidency spokesperson refused to comment.
Earlier in the day, Zoltán Kovács, Orbán’s international spokesman, told reporters cryptically that Orbán was “off the grid.” “We’re not going to tell you ahead what he’s up to,” he said in Budapest when asked if a trip to Moscow was on the cards.
Following initial reports on Thursday of a possible Orbán-Putin meet in Moscow, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote on X: “The EU rotating presidency has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU.
“The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. No discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk chimed in to question the choice: “The rumours about your visit to Moscow cannot be true [Orbán], or can they?” he wrote on X.
Valérie Hayer, president of the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, also denounced the visit.
