After 3.5-hour Putin meet, NATO minister shocks Western allies with TV message| Russia| Hungary

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a three-and-a-half-hour meeting focused on energy security and Hungary’s independent stance within the EU. Orban’s delegation announced that Russia guaranteed uninterrupted gas and oil deliveries through the Druzhba and Turkish Stream pipelines, reinforcing Hungary’s exemption from EU energy sanctions. Budapest also secured a commitment to accelerate work on the Paks nuclear plant, with construction set to begin in February. Orban reiterated Hungary’s “pro-peace” position on the Ukraine war and said Putin would support holding any future peace summit in Budapest. The meeting underscored Hungary’s deepening bilateral ties with Moscow, a move likely to escalate tensions inside the EU, where several members view Orban’s energy and diplomatic alignment with Russia as undermining collective policy toward the Kremlin.