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In an address delivered before the talks in the presence of the press, the Hungarian Prime Minister recalled that since 2009 this was going to be his fourteenth bilateral meeting with the Russian President. He added at the same time that this one was more special than those they had had earlier. He also recalled that he had last visited Moscow in February 2022, before the war.
Mr Orbán said from 1 July Hungary is holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Prime Minister thanked the Russian President for receiving him “also in such difficult circumstances.” He stressed that “slowly, there are no countries left that are able to communicate with both warring parties; slowly, Hungary is now the only country in Europe that is able to talk to everyone.”
The Hungarian Prime Minister indicated that he wanted to take advantage of this situation by exchanging ideas with the Russian President about important questions, and he would like to learn about his position on some issues that are important for Europe.
“I sincerely hope that we will have the opportunity to talk about bilateral relations in this difficult situation. And naturally, to talk about the prospects of the greatest European crisis, the development of the war in Ukraine,” said the Russian head of state regarding the meeting in a live broadcast on Russian television Russia-1.
“Naturally, I’m ready to discuss details with you regarding this issue, and hope that you, too, will share with me your position, the position of European partners,” he added.
He also said as regards Russian-Hungarian bilateral relations, regrettably, there has been a large, 35 per cent fall in trade. On the whole, we have plenty to work on and will implement projects, Vladimir Putin added.
The meeting will also be attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and head of Russian Diplomacy Sergey Lavrov.
