MOSCOW, 28 Oct. The meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing has deepened the split within the European Union, writes El País.
“For several weeks now, EU countries have been strenuously trying to create an image of unity that has been fragile even without the Hungarian’s controversial gesture Prime Minister. His recent meeting in China with Putin caused serious concern in the European Union,” the publication says.
According to the publication, many European leaders condemned such a move on the part of Orban. Thus, in Paris, his negotiations with the Russian leader were called a negative signal.
As the author of the article noted, the situation is complicated by the uncertainty associated with the coming to power in Slovakia of Robert Fico, who promised to stop providing military assistance to Ukraine.
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"But it's not just about Budapest. The arrival of the new prime minister of Slovakia, the pro-Russian Fico, showed that the split in the European Union continues,” the material summarized.
On Thursday, Orban said he was proud of Budapest’s peace strategy, which included maintaining relations with Moscow. He recalled that Russia and Hungary have a “common neighbor called Ukraine,” so they need to maintain a dialogue.
In September, Foreign Minister of the Republic Peter Szijjártó said that the EU and NATO countries tried to convince Hungary not to meet with representatives of Russia and Belarus at the UN General Assembly in New York. Budapest believes that such behavior leads to a dead end and does not contribute to the search for ways to peacefully resolve conflicts. The Hungarian minister himself has repeatedly called on the allies not to close channels of communication with Russia.
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