Ukraine must abandon four regions for peace to be possible, was the message from Vladimir Putin to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Orbán's visit to Moscow is being heavily criticized by his EU leader colleagues.
We are talking about the complete withdrawal of all forces from the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, and from the regions of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson, said Russia's President Vladimir Putin in a comment on TV after the talks with Orbán.
Orbán stated that Ukraine and Russia are very far apart and that many steps are needed to end the conflict.
But... the first important step has been taken today and I will continue the work, he said at a press conference according to AFP.
No Mandate from the EU
Hungary has just taken over the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers. But before Viktor Orbán had landed in Moscow on Friday morning, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell went out and stated that the Hungarian did not speak on behalf of the EU.
"Prime Minister Orbán has not received any mandate from the European Council to visit Moscow", Borrell announced in social media.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that it is not possible to stop Russia's President Vladimir Putin by going to meet him.
"Only unity and determination pave the way for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine", she writes in social media.
Was Just in Kiev
Before the trip to Moscow, Orbán informed NATO that he would meet Putin, according to NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Of course, Viktor Orbán does not represent NATO at this meeting. He represents his own country, said Stoltenberg at a press conference ahead of the NATO summit in Washington.
Orbán visited Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev during the week, and among other things asked about the possibilities of a ceasefire to enable negotiations. From Zelensky's side, it was said that the president listened and then repeated Ukraine's view on the matter, that Russia should not occupy any part of the country.
Orbán has, during the large-scale war, gone against the other EU countries on the terms of peace, sanctions against Russia, and relations with the Kremlin.
"Mockery of Ukraine"
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) believes that Viktor Orbán is using his presidency in an "irresponsible and disloyal" manner.
"It sends a wrong signal to the world and is a mockery of the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their freedom", Kristersson writes in social media.
