Ahmad 
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban confirmed that he achieved the main goal of his visit to Moscow, which was to start a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the shortest path to peace in Ukraine.
Orban wrote in his account on the “X” platform: “I concluded my discussions with President Putin, and my goal was to open direct channels of communication and start a dialogue about the shortest paths to peace.”
He added: “The mission has been accomplished, and it will be completed on Monday.” Orban attached these phrases to the slogan of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began on July 1.
Earlier today, President Putin held discussions with Orban, who arrived in Moscow on a “peace mission” for a settlement in Ukraine.
During the meeting, Putin asked him to inform him of the position of Hungary and the European Union regarding the situation around Ukraine, and he also promised to inform him of the details of Moscow’s peace initiative in Ukraine.
While Orban said after the talks: “Over the past two and a half years, we have realized that without diplomacy, and without channels of communication, we will not achieve peace and it will not come on its own, but rather we have to work for it.”
Orban emphasized continuing to work with Russia and Ukraine to achieve peace, noting that the positions of both parties regarding the settlement are divergent.
For his part, Orban confirmed in response to Borrell that he is conducting his contacts with Russia on behalf of his country, not the European Union.
President Putin constantly affirms Russia’s readiness for peace and that any negotiations must take into account the new reality on the ground and Russia’s security demands.
It is noteworthy that European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Josep Borrell stated earlier that Orban did not obtain authorization from the European Union to visit Russia and that Brussels rules out holding official contacts with Moscow.
Orban visited Kiev last Tuesday for the first time in 12 years, where he proposed to Zelensky a ceasefire and the start of negotiations with Russia, but the latter rejected the initiative.
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