U.S. concerned about Orban's meeting with Putin
Photo: Orban's meeting with Putin concerns the USA (Getty Images)
The United States is concerned about Hungary's relationship with Russia and considers Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's decision to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "troubling," reports Reuters.
Orban had a meeting with Putin during the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. He is the only leader from a European Union country who has been present at the forum or met with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
"The United States is concerned about Hungary’s relationship with Russia," said the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman.
Earlier this week, Pressman wrote on X: "Hungary's leader chooses to stand with a man whose forces are responsible for crimes against humanity in Ukraine, and alone among our Allies."
Hungary, which is also a member of NATO, opposes many of the EU's initiatives to support Ukraine and receives a significant portion of its oil and gas from Russia.
Orban meets Putin
On October 17, Viktor Orban told Putin that Hungary never wanted to confront Russia and is trying to preserve bilateral contacts.
After Orban's meeting, ambassadors from NATO countries and Sweden gathered in Budapest to discuss their concerns about Hungary's growing closeness to Moscow.
