Orbán says Putin is open to peace talks in Hungary

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reacted "positively" to an invitation to hold peace talks in Hungary, the country's ultra-nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said today. 

The Hungarian leader told a press conference that he has personally asked Putin, with whom he has good relations, to declare a ceasefire in the war sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"I have proposed to him that there should be a ceasefire (in Ukraine) and I proposed that he, the Ukrainian president (Volodymir Zelenski), the French president (Emmanuel Macron) and the German chancellor (Olaf Scholz) come to Budapest to negotiate a ceasefire agreement as soon as possible," Orbán told reporters. 

Orbán indicated that the Russian president "gave a positive answer" but also that he would set conditions for such a meeting, which the Hungarian prime minister did not specify. 

"We are a special country, which is in the East of the West. We have an experience from 1956 (the Soviet invasion). We know how brutal an invasion can be," said Orbán, who won his fourth consecutive absolute majority in Sunday's election. 

"The most important thing is for there to be peace as soon as possible," said Orbán, who maintained a message of equidistance between Russia and Ukraine during the election campaign, saying his priority is to defend Hungary's interests. 

Orbán is one of the EU leaders with the best relations with Russia. In the current crisis he has refused to send arms to Ukraine or allow other countries to send them through his territory, although he has condemned the Russian attack.