Putin tells Orban he is ready to discuss ‘nuances’ of Ukraine conflict

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday (Jul 5) that he was ready to discuss the “nuances” of peace proposals to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Putin, who received Orban in the Kremlin, said he was ready to hear the Hungarian leader’s position on Ukraine and to get a readout from Orban on the views of other European partners.

“I hope we will have an opportunity to exchange views on building bilateral relations in this difficult situation and, of course, to talk about the prospects for the development of the biggest European crisis, I mean in the Ukrainian direction,” Putin told Orban.

Putin, who noted that Hungary currently held the European Union’s rotating presidency, made the comments ahead of Kremlin talks between the two leaders.

Putin said last month that Russia would end the war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation, only if Kyiv agreed to drop its Nato ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender. REUTERS