Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in China today. It’s about her first handshake between the Russian president and an EU leader since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Orban told Putin that “Hungary never sought confrontation with Russia. On the contrary, the opposite is true: Hungary has always pursued the goal of creating and expanding better communication».

Putin said, “it is very important to have the opportunity to exchange views not only on bilateral relations, but also on the situation in the world and in Europe with one of the EU countrieswith Hungary in this case,” adding, “we know that our positions do not always coincide, but an opportunity to exchange views, in my opinion, is always extremely important.”

The meeting was held at the two-day forum on Tuesday for China’s 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiativewhere Orbán and Putin discussed cooperation in natural gas and crude oil transport as well as nuclear energy.

The Hungarian leader has cultivated a close personal relationship with Putin over the years and has been slow to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine while maintaining a Russia-friendly stance in the conflict.