Hungary has canceled a meeting of foreign ministers with Germany scheduled for Monday in Budapest "for technical, not political reasons," its foreign ministry said on Saturday, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his unannounced trip to Moscow, UNN reports, citing Reuters and Bloomberg.
Details
"Due to an unforeseen change in the minister's calendar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that the visit be rescheduled for a later date, hopefully in the near future," the ministry said.
The German Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it was "surprised" by the cancellation and that a "serious and honest" discussion was needed after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Bloomberg noted that Hungary "suddenly told Germany's foreign minister she was not welcome" after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his unannounced trip to Moscow.
Scholz said on Friday that Orban had not informed him in advance of the trip plans. "The European Council in terms of foreign policy is represented by Charles Michel, not Hungary," Scholz said, referring to the president of the European Council.
Addendum
The meeting was the first time an EU leader has met with Putin in Moscow since April 2022, two months after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting angered some EU leaders, who warned against appeasing Moscow and said Orban did not speak for the EU.