Russian President Vladimir Putin received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, on Friday. The two leaders held detailed talks on Russian oil and gas supplies.
President Orban has described Russia's oil as “vital for Hungary’s energy security." despite having been critiicised by European leaders for purchasing it.
According to a statement by the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, the country imported 8.5 million metric tonnes of crude oil and more than 7 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Russia this year.
This was made possible after United States granted Hungary a sanctions exemption earlier this month to continue using Russian oil and gas. Orban successfully pressed his case during a friendly meeting with Trump in Washington.
Putin described Hungary’s position on the Ukraine war as “balanced” and noted that bilateral trade, which had fallen by 23% last year due to “external restrictions”, recovered by 7% in 2025.
The Russian leader reportedly reaffirmed that he welcomed Budapest as the venue for the postponed Russia–U.S. summit with President Donald Trump.
While on air, he mentioned the summit idea had come from Trump during their phone call on 16 October. "He immediately said: we have good relations with Hungary, you have good relations with Viktor (Orban), I suggest this option," Putin said.
After U.S. and Russian diplomats failed to reach agreement in preparatory talks, Trump announced that the meeting had been “cancelled for now”.
The Hungarian PM voiced hope that ongoing diplomatic efforts — including envoy Steve Witkoff’s planned meeting with Putin in Moscow next week — would advance negotiations to end the war. “We very much hope that the peace proposals on the table will lead to a ceasefire and peace,” Orban said.
Earlier on Facebook, Orban wrote that he was visiting Moscow “to ensure Hungary’s energy supply is secured for the winter and next year.”
The meeting marked a rare visit by an EU and NATO leader to Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.
Notably, Viktor Orban also met with Putin in Moscow, in July 2024. He is one of the few European leaders to continue visits to Russia amid the Ukraine conflict.
Last week, he reportedly said he would oppose continued EU support for Ukraine unless the bloc backed a 28-point peace plan supported by Trump, which imposes strict conditions on Kyiv.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 28th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Outlined draft peace proposals discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but if not, Russia would fight on, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday that Ukrainian and United States delegations, are scheduled to meet later this week to advance discussions on a proposed ceasefire with Russia.
Peace in Ukraine seems to be closer than ever. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace proposal could pave the way for an end to the hostilities – or at least a temporary freeze – in the Eastern European nation.
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Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of Sofia on Wednesday to protest against the government’s draft budget for 2026, the first to be prepared in euros ahead of the country’s planned eurozone entry on 1 January 2026.
The Kremlin is set to evaluate a new diplomatic proposal aimed at halting the hostilities in Ukraine, with high-level discussions involving a Washington envoy scheduled for the coming days in Moscow.
The European Union’s high-stakes strategy to leverage hundreds of billions in frozen Russian capital to prop up Ukraine’s defence has hit a critical roadblock, with Belgium warning that the move could torpedo fragile diplomatic openings aimed at ending the conflict.
A simmering diplomatic feud between Washington and Pretoria has erupted into a full-scale crisis, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa describing U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban South Africa from the 2026 G20 summit as "regrettable" and based on "misinformation."
Making his diplomatic debut in Türkiye, the first American Pope warned a "piecemeal" World War III endangers humanity. Leo XIV met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed on Thursday (27 November), urging an end to global conflicts.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 28th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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