Merz reveals details of clash with Orban
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has acknowledged that he had a heated argument with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over their approaches to dealing with Russia.
The two clashed at an EU summit in Copenhagen last week, Merz said in an interview with German broadcaster ntv on Monday.
“He accused [me] of not wanting to negotiate,” the chancellor stated, referring to Orban. According to Merz, he responded by saying Orban’s diplomatic efforts last year, which involved visits to both Moscow and Kiev, led to nothing. “That’s not the path I want to take,” he said.
Asked by host Pinar Atalay if not even trying will solve the problem, Merz dodged the question, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not want to negotiate.”
Russia has stated throughout the Ukraine conflict that it is ready to negotiate as long as the reality on the ground is taken into account and the root causes of the conflict are addressed.
Last month, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is ready to pursue a compromise to resolve the conflict if “our legitimate security interests, as well as the legitimate interests of Russians living in Ukraine, are respected in the same way as those of other parties.”
Hungary has been a vocal critic of the EU’s belligerent approach toward Russia. Orban warned after the Copenhagen summit that the EU leaders “want to go to war” with Russia.
Germany has been Kiev’s second-biggest arms supplier after the US since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The country’s position has hardened under Merz, who has claimed that all diplomatic options have been exhausted, and that Germany is “already in a conflict” with Russia.
