Ursula von der Leyen criticizes Orbán's 'peace mission' in Russia 'to warm applause' in EU – Politico

During her speech in the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's "peace mission" in Russia, reports Politico.

"This peace mission was nothing but an appeasement mission," von der Leyen said.

She did not name the Hungarian prime minister, but Hungary's ambassador, Bálint Ódor, was sitting in the hall and the camera was focused on him, while the European Parliament applauded her words.

"Russia is banking on Europe and the West going soft and some in Europe are playing along... Europe will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the president stressed.

On July 17, the European Parliament condemned the recent "peace mission" of the Hungarian premier to Russia.

On July 2, the Hungarian prime minister visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Orbán proposed a ceasefire for further negotiations.

On July 5, Orbán went to Moscow to see Vladimir Putin. After that, the Ukrainian president rejected the possibility of Hungary's mediation.

Borrell criticized the trip of the Hungarian official, saying that Hungary, which presides over the Council of the European Union, represents only its interests in international trips, and not the entire EU.

On July 16, Politico reported that a number of members of the European Parliament demanded to withdraw the right to vote in the European Union from Hungary after the so-called "peacekeeping missions" of Prime Minister Orbán.