Estonia’s leader Kaja Kallas, arriving in Brussels for the EU leadership summit, said she was determined to challenge Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over his appeasement approach to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, describing the Russian leader as a “war criminal”.
Orbán insisted he had been right to meet Putin while in Beijing earlier this month, a meeting that took place in defiance of EU efforts to isolate Moscow because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Orbán, who claimed it was the other EU leaders who were wrong, seems to have gained an ally in the new Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.
Like Orbán, Fico is now threatening to block EU aid to Ukraine, aware that the unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states is required if funding support is to go ahead. “To make it clear, I won’t vote for any sanctions against Russia unless we have analysis of their impact on Slovakia on the table,” Fico declared.
An unabashed Orbán told reporters in Brussels that Hungary was keeping open all communication lines with the Russians. “We are the only ones to speak on behalf and in favour of peace, which would be in the interest of everybody in Europe.”
Orbán, has regularly spoken out against the EU sanctions, and just recently threatened to block an additional 50 billion euros in support that has been promised to Ukraine through 2027.
The West has allotted billions of euros in financial and military aid to Ukraine while imposing round after round of economic sanctions on Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Estonia’s Kallas was adamant about confronting Orbán, saying his approach played into the Kremlin’s hand, since Moscow wants “to see us divided.” Putin, she said, was a war criminal, wanted by the International Criminal Court, which accuses him of illegally deporting children from Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the EU summit by video link, urging the leaders to continue the bloc’s support for Ukraine and to show unity in the face of Putin.
A lot is at stake for Ukraine, given that Orbán could hold up issues ranging from EU financial support and arms deliveries, and could potentially even veto Ukraine’s application for membership.
