WASHINGTON. July 5 (Interfax) - Washington is concerned by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's "counterproductive" visit to the Russian capital, the White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.
"We are concerned that Prime Minister Orban would choose to make this trip to Moscow," Jean-Pierre said.
Orban's visit to Russia "will not advance the cause of peace and is counterproductive to promoting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," she said.
Earlier on Friday Orban arrived in Moscow where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders discussed possibilities of peacefully resolving the situation in Ukraine and further Russian-Hungarian cooperation.
No matter what information it is followed by, Orban's Moscow visit is not conducive to peace; it is unity within European Union that plays an important role in resolving the Ukrainian conflict, the European Commission's spokesperson Eric Mamer said.
Orban did not coordinate his visit with EU institutions, Mamer said.
There is a process "managed at EU level" and aimed at peace in Ukraine, and unity plays a key role in this context, Mamer said.
This uncoordinated visit could also put in doubt the European Commission's traditional visiting of Hungary at the start of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, which was due to take place after the summer vacations, he said.
The Council of the EU has not given Orban the mandate to visit Moscow on the Union's behalf, such a visit can only take place in the framework of Russia-Hungary relations, EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said.
As president of the Council of the EU, Hungary does not currently have the right to interact with Russia on the EU's behalf, European Council President Charles Michel said on X on Thursday.