Hungary's Orban pushes direct Russia talks, opposes EU summit declaration

2/3/2025 6:21

Hungary's prime minister has urged the European Union to start direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire in Ukraine and drop plans for a joint

declaration at an extraordinary EU summit next week, saying differences in the bloc "cannot be bridged".



Under President Donald Trump, the United States has started talks with Russia on ending its war in Ukraine, but without Kyiv or the EU at the table. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed in a White House meeting on Friday.



In a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa dated Saturday, first reported by German daily Welt and seen by Reuters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said of the EU that there were "strategic differences in our approach to Ukraine that cannot be bridged".



The European Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.