Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for nearly five hours in Moscow yesterday, Putin reported afterwards, with both leaders expressing satisfaction that the talks had been very productive.
While much of their discussion centered on new or expanded economic cooperation projects, in their press conference after the meeting it was the “peacemaking” intention of his visit which Orbán chose to emphasize, putting the lie to the “narrative” that Europe stands united against Russia. In his words:
“You and I have been cooperating for 13 years now, and today’s meeting was our 12th. Due to the global geopolitical developments, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the current meeting is the most important.
“I am here on a peacemaking visit because I was able to highlight that the European Union is a unified entity. This means that not a single EU leader wants a conflict with the Russian Federation to flare up. This is particularly important for us in Central Europe.
“I was able to tell you how we interpret history. We always stood to lose when a conflict brewed between the West and the East. The long years of the Cold War spelled sorrow and suffering for Hungary. Consequently, we, Hungarians, and other Central European nations are interested in reducing tensions between the West and the East and in doing everything possible to prevent a Cold War and scale down pressure and tensions. In this situation, dialogue and talks are needed to prevent this.
“I welcome the dialogue between Russia and our Western allies. I have informed you, and I always tell our allies that it is highly important to continue these talks, this dialogue and to use all possible diplomatic tools to resolve the conflict and reduce tensions.
“What can we offer? We can offer the Hungarian model. The Hungarian model exists in politics: we are members of NATO and the European Union. Nevertheless, we can maintain excellent relations with Russia. This is possible. What do we need for this? We need mutual respect. Hungary has always been respected by President Putin, and we also show such respect for the Russian Federation and President Putin.” (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67682)
The two nations’ cooperation is grounded not merely on trade (which rose 30% in 2021), but on productive economic cooperation in multiple areas. In addition to Russian financing announced for Hungary’s project to become a major rail/logistics center on the New Silk Road (see slug), the two leaders discussed the joint Hungarian-Russian railcar manufacturing venture; the integrated pharmaceutical plant which Hungary’s Gedeon Richter company is building in Russia and coming production of Sputnik Light vaccine in Hungary; ideas for agricultural expansion; and getting Rosatom’s construction of two new nuclear plants at Hungary’s Paks nuclear site underway in the first half of 2022. Putin also arranged a tentative commitment from Russian gas companies to supply an additional 1 billion cubic meters of gas to Hungary (pending assessments of Russia’s stocks after the autumn-winter period).
