Putin stresses peace only after Ukraine's surrender as Hungary's Orban makes surprise visit to Moscow

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is advocating a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that peace talks can only happen after Ukraine essentially surrenders. 

Orban turned heads this week when he made back-to-back trips to Kyiv and Moscow just days before a major NATO summit in Washington, D.C., next week. Hungary on Monday started its six-month tenure as the president of the EU, which is a rotating role among all members, and this is Orban's first visit to Ukraine since the invasion started in Feb. 2022.

European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell rushed out a statement stressing that Orban had no mandate from the union and that he was "not representing the EU in any form." 

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described the visit as "disturbing" news, writing on social media platform X that the visit shows "disregard for the duties of the EU presidency and undermines interests of the European Union."

Orban insisted that he had had a "really useful, frank conversation" with Putin about Ukraine, and Putin said that the pair had discussed "possible ways of resolving" the conflict, repeating his demands that Ukraine withdraw all troops from annexed regions. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Russia had had no idea about the visit until Orban’s camp established contact one day before his arrival. 

However, Orban admitted that after his two visits, he realized that the "positions are far apart" between Kyiv and Moscow, adding that "the number of steps needed to end the war and bring about peace is many," Euractiv reported.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre labeled the visit as "counterproductive" for NATO and argued that the visit "will not advance the cause of peace."