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Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for a lengthy chat on the sidelines of a visit to Beijing. It was also about the war in Ukraine.

During his first meeting with a head of government of an EU state this year, Putin spoke of his “satisfaction” that there were still countries in Europe in contact with Russia despite tensions with the West. Orban, who also visited Putin in Moscow in February before the war started last year, spoke of a “difficult” meeting in Beijing, according to the Russian translation.

Despite EU sanctions in the aftermath of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Budapest is trying to salvage what is possible in bilateral contacts with Moscow, Orbán said. Unlike Germany, Hungary still receives pipeline gas from Russia. According to Russian state media, Orban praised the fact that in addition to energy giant Gazprom, the nuclear company Rosatom also remained a good partner. Hungary wants to continue economic cooperation with Russia.

Putin was emphatically “satisfied.” “Despite the fact that current geopolitical conditions significantly limit the possibilities for maintaining contacts and developing relationships, we can still be satisfied that we are maintaining and developing our relationships with many European countries. One of these countries is Hungary,” Putin said. The Kremlin chief received Orban at a guesthouse run by the Chinese leadership, where he will stay until Wednesday during the Silk Road summit.

Russian state media also showed images of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warmly embracing Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller. Most Russian and Hungarian delegation members greeted each other in Beijing with a friendly handshake. Szijjarto was also in Russia after the start of the war to negotiate gas supplies.

Moscow media commentators said Orbán’s meeting with Putin would cause heart attacks among some Western politicians who support Ukraine in the war. The relatively Russia-friendly course of right-wing national politician Orban has been repeatedly criticized in the EU. (sda/dpa)