BUDAPEST, May 17. /TASS/. Leaders of the European Union (EU) countries, same as the US, should conduct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin as it is impossible to achieve peace without it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, adding that Europeans’ participation is also necessary for settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
"This is an illusion that peace will be achieved [only] as a result of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. European leaders will have to conduct talks with the Russian president sooner or later. This is inevitable," Orban wrote on the Hungarian government’s Facebook page (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).
"Europe should decide whether to conduct negotiations with Putin before or after Americans," he added. Previously, the Hungarian premier has repeatedly warned that EU leaders would be left behind the talks between Russia and the US, with all issues of further world order solved without them.