Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is travelling to Moscow on Friday, 28 November, to ensure Hungary’s energy supply for the winter and for next year as well, he told public media at the Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. Orbán departed early in the morning to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Orbán explained that from a Hungarian point of view, the purpose of the talks is to continue ensuring Hungary’s energy supply, which means gas and oil. As he said, Hungary receives these energy sources from Russia through pipelines. He pointed out that energy prices are experiencing severe fluctuations across Europe and are continuously rising, which places a burden on households and the economy—especially in Western Europe. He added that Hungary currently has the lowest energy prices in all of Europe, thanks to the country’s access to cheap Russian oil and gas, which are more favourable compared to international price levels.
The prime minister recalled his visit to Washington earlier in November, where he met US President Donald Trump. As a result of the visit, Hungary got an exemption from American sanctions imposed on Russian energy companies. ‘We achieved this—which is excellent. Now all we need is gas and oil, and these can be purchased from the Russians. That is why I am going there: to ensure Hungary’s energy supply for the winter and for next year as well, at an affordable price,’ he underlined.
Energy, however, might not be the only issue discussed between PM Orbán and President Putin. Replying to a journalist’s question, Orbán said that the issue of peace would probably come up in the talks, as ‘we can hardly avoid it.’
Just as Orbán departed for Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Washington has provided Moscow with the details of its peace plan, refined following US–Ukrainian negotiations in Geneva over the weekend. ‘The key details have been handed over, and discussions will be held in Moscow next week,’ he said.
The US and Ukraine held consultations on Washington’s 28-point peace plan on 23 November. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as ‘the most productive’ so far since the beginning of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week that Washington and Kyiv agreed on ‘core terms’ of a potential peace agreement.
Trump expressed optimism that the deal is within reach, saying only ‘a few remaining points of disagreement’ stand in the way. ‘We’re going to get there,’ he wrote on social media on Tuesday. ‘I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but only when the deal to end this war is final or in its final stages,’ Trump concluded.
Putin stated earlier that the US plan could serve as a foundation for efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict.
As Hungarian Conservative reported, Orbán’s trip to Moscow could be part of a push to finally materialize the Budapest peace summit, announced by Trump in October but later delayed as Moscow signalled unwillingness to negotiate at the time. Trump signalled on Tuesday that he will meet Zelenskyy and Putin—though it is not clear whether jointly or separately—only when negotiations are in their final stage.
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