Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Friday, once again shunning efforts by his European Union partners to isolate Moscow over its invasion of neighboring Ukraine nearly four years ago. The trip to Moscow is the second since last year for Orban, who is widely considered Putin's closest partner among all EU leaders.
Trump continues to try to force an end to the fighting, which has been ongoing since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022. The US leader has not presented any detailed proposals, and wavers in his approach. But he has grown increasingly frustrated with faltering peace efforts. In recent months, he expressed disappointment at Putin for not making meaningful concessions after the two met in Alaska in August.