00:05Mandatory credit: Embassy of Hungary in Moscow
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted a picture as he touched down in Moscow - with the hashtag 'peace mission continues' - as he arrived at Vnukovo International Airport on Friday.
He was later seen holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and comes less than a week after Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
The trip saw criticism from other EU leaders. EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell said that Orban had 'not received any mandate from the EU Council' while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed 'appeasement will not stop Putin'.
Estonian PM and Borrell's successor Kaja Kallas wrote on social media that Orban 'in no way represents the EU or the EU's positions'.
Meanwhile Orban wrote on X that "you cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels. Even if the rotating EU-Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end."
Earlier this week, Orban visited Kiev and urged Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to 'take a break', have a ceasefire and 'continue negotiations' - although admitted the response to his suggestion had been 'frank'.
'Peace mission continues' - Hungary's Orban posts image from Moscow airport *STILL*
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted a picture as he touched down in Moscow - with the hashtag 'peace mission continues' - as he arrived at Vnukovo International Airport on Friday.
He was later seen holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and comes less than a week after Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
The trip saw criticism from other EU leaders. EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell said that Orban had 'not received any mandate from the EU Council' while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed 'appeasement will not stop Putin'.
Estonian PM and Borrell's successor Kaja Kallas wrote on social media that Orban 'in no way represents the EU or the EU's positions'.
Meanwhile Orban wrote on X that "you cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels. Even if the rotating EU-Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end."
Earlier this week, Orban visited Kiev and urged Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to 'take a break', have a ceasefire and 'continue negotiations' - although admitted the response to his suggestion had been 'frank'.
Mandatory credit: Embassy of Hungary in Moscow
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted a picture as he touched down in Moscow - with the hashtag 'peace mission continues' - as he arrived at Vnukovo International Airport on Friday.
He was later seen holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and comes less than a week after Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
The trip saw criticism from other EU leaders. EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell said that Orban had 'not received any mandate from the EU Council' while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed 'appeasement will not stop Putin'.
Estonian PM and Borrell's successor Kaja Kallas wrote on social media that Orban 'in no way represents the EU or the EU's positions'.
Meanwhile Orban wrote on X that "you cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels. Even if the rotating EU-Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end."
Earlier this week, Orban visited Kiev and urged Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to 'take a break', have a ceasefire and 'continue negotiations' - although admitted the response to his suggestion had been 'frank'.