Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s approach to the Russian-Ukraine war is not Russia-sympathetic, but Hungarian-pragmatic. He has made it clear that Hungary condemns the Russian invasion into Ukraine and stands for Ukrainian sovereignty, but not to the point that agreeing to energy sanctions would crush Hungary’s economy.

The Prime Minister said that the rebuilding of Russian-European economic relations after the war would be desirable, but it is unlikely to happen any time soon.

Austria’s Chancellor was the first Western leader to meet with Putin after the invasion. Now, despite strong criticism, Russian representatives were granted visas to Austria to attend the OSCE summit in Vienna in February.