Brussels, 10 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán justified his unannounced trip to Russia by citing the economic impact of the Ukraine war on the European Union, in a letter obtained by dpa on Tuesday.

"The negative economic effects of the war place a great burden on the everyday lives of our citizens and on the competitiveness of the EU," Orbán said in the report, dated July 5, and addressed to European Council President Charles Michel and EU leaders.

Orbán visited Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately after his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

Hungary is viewed in the EU as close to Russia and Orbán's short report adopted wholesale Putin's view of the Ukraine war and shared unrealistically high Russian estimates of Ukrainian casualties.

Putin believes time is on Russia's side in the conflict, Orbán said, and reported the Russian president's surprise that Ukraine had not accepted recent offers of a ceasefire and peace negotiations.

Orbán repeated Putin's expectation of a rapid collapse of Ukraine in the coming months. This is despite a major Russian offensive on Kharkiv grinding to a halt and wider Ukrainian victories in Crimea.

The Russian president has consistently linked conditions he has determined for an end to the war with the idea it would be better to accept them before the situation in Ukraine deteriorates further.

In his letter, the Hungarian premier told fellow EU leaders that based on his talks with Putin, "there is now a greater chance" for a ceasefire and a path towards peace talks."

He urged the bloc to take the initiative in pushing for a ceasefire, as Washington is increasingly focused on the upcoming presidential elections.

"Political leadership provided by the United States is limited, due to the ongoing election campaign," Orbán noted.

Photo: EPA