Budapest (AFP) - Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a trip the EU said threatened to undermine the bloc’s stance on the Ukraine war.

Orban – the friendliest leader in the EU to the Kremlin – wrote on X that “the peace mission continues. Second stop: Moscow”, days after he visited Kyiv.

European Union leaders rounded on Orban, whose country this week took over the bloc’s rotating presidency, for paying a visit to a leader wanted for war crimes.

“Appeasement will not stop Putin,” European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.

“Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement that Orban’s “visit to Moscow takes place, exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia”.

“Prime Minister Orban has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow.”

The 27-nation EU has firmly opposed Russia’s war on Ukraine, imposing 14 rounds of unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over the invasion.

“That position excludes official contacts between the EU and President Putin. The Hungarian Prime Minister is thus not representing the EU in any form,” Borrell said.

“It is worth recalling that President Putin has been indicted by the International Criminal Court and an arrest warrant released for his role in relation to the forced deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.”

EU Council chief Charles Michel had earlier reiterated the common stance that “no discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine”.

- ‘Disturbing news’ -

Hungary’s six-month EU presidency gives the central European country sway over the bloc’s agenda and priorities for the next six months.

Orban’s visit to Moscow comes days after the right-wing nationalist made a surprise trip to Kyiv, where he urged Ukraine’s leadership to work towards a quick ceasefire with Russia.

The Hungarian leader on Friday insisted that peace cannot be achieved without dialogue.

“If we just sit in Brussels, we won’t be able to get any closer to peace. Action must be taken,” Orban said in his regular interview on Hungarian state radio, when asked about his Tuesday visit to Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed disbelief at Orban’s planned Moscow trip, while Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called it “disturbing news”.

The visit is the first to Moscow by a European leader since a visit by Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022.

Orban and Putin last met in October 2023 in Beijing, where they discussed energy cooperation.