Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is set to travel to Moscow – likely on 28 November – with a large delegation, with energy issues topping the agenda.

Source: VSquare portal, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to VSquare, NATO and EU partners were unaware of Orbán's plan to visit Russia, and the trip was likely not coordinated with the United States either. One European source believes the meeting had been planned for a long time and is simply a continuation of Orbán's tradition of meeting Putin annually.

VSquare diplomatic sources say Orbán will travel with "a larger delegation of dozens of people", including Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár, and national security adviser Marcell Bíró.

The main purpose of the visit, according to the media outlet sources, is to discuss energy matters, particularly following the US decision to grant Hungary a one-year exemption from sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

Quote from VSquare: "Nuclear issues will also be raised, as Westinghouse joins the Russian-designed Paks nuclear plant as a fuel supplier."

More details: Another key topic of the Hungaria-Russia talks will be the potential acquisition by Hungary's MOL oil company of Gazprom's stake in the Serbian company NIS, which could help MOL avoid the impact of US sanctions.

"And Orbán is likely to frame this Moscow mission as a stepping stone toward reviving the short-lived idea of a Budapest 'peace summit' featuring Trump and Putin," VSquare adds.

Background:

• Putin said on Thursday that Russia and Hungary are discussing a potential visit by Prime Minister Orbán.
• In October 2023, Orbán met Putin in China, where he called the war against Ukraine a "special operation" [as the war against Ukraine is called in Russia – ed.].

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