Viktor Orbán's surprise visit to Moscow sparks dismay and anger in Brussels

euronews (in English)

Hungarian officials told Euronews the government's policy in Ukraine is that 'both parties' need to negotiate an end to the conflict and that there was 'no military solution'.

Transcript

00:00Make Europe Great Again, borrowing a phrase from Donald Trump, is the slogan of Hungary's

00:05six-month rotating presidency of the European Council.

00:09And just days into Hungary's presidency and Prime Minister Viktor Orban has drawn the

00:12ire of the EU after reports emerged he's taking an unscheduled visit to Putin in Russia.

00:19President of the European Council Charles Michel reminded Orban he has no right to represent

00:22the EU in Moscow, tweeting, the EU rotating presidency has no mandate to engage with Russia

00:28on behalf of the EU, no discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.

00:35Meanwhile the government says its priorities for the EU as part of the presidency include

00:39a strong line of migration, enlargement and it also has a strong role to play to ensure

00:43the smooth transition to a new college of commissioners after the European Parliament

00:48elections.

00:49It also says defence is a priority, but Hungary is still blocking 6.6 billion euros of military

00:54support for Ukraine.

00:56The Hungarian government took the decision that we provide a wide-ranging support for

01:02Ukraine including humanitarian one, but we do not provide directly or indirectly military

01:07support to Ukraine.

01:09The Hungarian government says it promises to be an honest broker and work hard on the

01:13transition to the new college of commissioners, despite the fact that Viktor Orban, the Prime

01:17Minister, voted against Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European

01:22Commission.

01:23However, there is concern among some member states that the constant blocking by Hungary

01:26on issues regarding Ukraine, whether its military, finance or the areas of enlargement, will

01:31still cause consternation.

01:33Shona Murray, Euronews, Budapest.

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