Polish President Karol Nawrocki has canceled a planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, citing Orban’s late-November visit to Moscow. Orban later described his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as “successful.”
Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau in the Polish president’s office, said Nawrocki scaled back his trip to Hungary and will only attend the Visegrad Group presidents’ summit in Esztergom. That means the one-on-one with Orban, flagged by Przydacz in early November, will not take place.
Przydacz said the decision was prompted by Orban’s visit to Moscow and his meeting with Putin. He added that Nawrocki intends to press for European solidarity, including on energy policy. In Esztergom, the Polish leader will discuss security and cooperation with the presidents of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Nawrocki’s visit had been planned as a two-day trip, with the summit on Wednesday and official meetings in Budapest on Thursday - including talks with Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Orban. Those plans have now changed.
Orban and Putin met at the Kremlin on November 28 for roughly four hours. The Hungarian leader said Budapest is interested in peace talks on Ukraine and a potential resolution of the conflict, and emphasized the need to secure energy supplies for Hungary at acceptable prices. After the meeting, he called the dialogue with Putin successful.
