In an interview with local TV station, Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said that the disagreement between the two leaders occurred at the European Union (EU) summit in Copenhagen last week.
According to Prime Minister Merz, he has been accused by Prime Minister Orban of not wanting to negotiate, while according to Mr. Merz, the Hungarian leaders efforts for mediation between Russia and Ukraine throughout 2024 are ineffective.
That is not the path I want to take, Merz added, asserting that I will not try to solve the problem in Eastern Europe through diplomacy because, according to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to negotiate.
However, the Russian side has repeatedly affirmed throughout the conflict with Ukraine that it is ready to sit at the negotiating table at any time, as long as the reality on the battlefield is taken into account and the root causes of the conflict are resolved.
Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that Moscow is ready to seek a "compromise" to end the conflict if "Russia's legitimate security interests, as well as the legitimate rights of Russian people living in Ukraine, are respected on par with other parties".
Hungary has long been one of the strongest speakers of criticism of the EU's approach to Russia. After the Copenhagen summit, Mr. Orban said that EU leaders wanted to move towards a direct conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile, Germany is currently the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine, after the US, since the conflict escalated in 2022.
Berlin's stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has become tougher under Merz, who has said diplomatic options are "exhausted" and asserted that Germany is in a conflict with Russia.
