Master and his servant in Kremlin

In reality, he was not the director, but merely playing a role orchestrated by Putin.

Following their meeting in the Kremlin, we saw that the Hungarian prime minister is not independent in decisions regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war, EU relations with Moscow, and the future of the European Union and NATO.

Commenting on Orban's Moscow trip, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, "Orban went to see Putin as the prime minister of Hungary. In matters of foreign policy, the European Council is represented by Charles Michel. The EU's position is clear: we condemn Russia's aggressive war, and Ukraine can count on our support."

The same position was voiced by senior EU officials. Ursula von der Leyen's office warned that she views the cancellation of her visit to Budapest as a manifestation of her rejection of Hungarian politics.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk quoted Orban's spokesman as saying that his visit to Moscow would be an essential tool for the first step toward peace: "The question is, in whose hands is this tool?"

So, everything is crystal clear. European politicians did not believe a word Putin and Orban said about their desire to bring "peace to Ukraine." Instead, they are watching with disdain as the Hungarian prime minister, the leader of the state that has taken over the EU presidency for six months, grovels before the Russian dictator.

For Brussels, the Hungarian presidency poses a problem because Budapest will propose the timing, agenda of the European Council meetings, and set the EU's priorities during its tenure. After Orban's visit to Moscow, we saw that these proposals and priorities would primarily reflect the interests and wishes of his Kremlin patron, rather than those of the European Union.

However, I am confident that Brussels will manage this challenge, just as they navigated the initiation of negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership on July 1, when Hungary assumed the EU presidency. Despite Hungarian resistance, Europeans recognized the issue and found a solution.

The open cavalier use of Orban by the Russian dictator should finally sober up the right-wing forces in the EU, who still harbor illusions about relations with Russia. There is no partnership, only subordination and the unquestioning fulfillment of tasks. Even when the relations between the "partners" do not resemble those of a patron and his vassal, but of a master and a lackey.

Moscow's Hungarian mediation play to "establish peace in Ukraine" has confirmed another assumption: Putin is determined to reach a truce in the war with Ukraine as quickly as possible. It seems that today we are talking about any truce.

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About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, member of the Ukrainian parliament.

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