Macron: Orban-Putin meeting could prove useful

“There’s absolutely no need to prohibit a head of state or government from going in one direction or another. It doesn’t shock us,” Macron said of the meeting.

Brüsszel, 2023. október 26. A Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda által közreadott képen Orbán Viktor miniszterelnök (j) és Emmanuel Macron francia elnök (b) az Európai Unió állam- és kormányfõinek kétnapos brüsszeli csúcstalálkozóján 2023. október 26-án. MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher Fotó: Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher

It's easy to say it's Europe. But if we confuse a sovereign choice with an act of military intervention, we run into a serious contradiction. We are at different levels of sensitivity, which is expressed by every head of state and government, but in fact this does not detract from the continuity of our action today. I think we have to respect these sensitivities if we are to maintain unity,

the French president said, noting that he was not shocked by Orban's meeting with Putin and stressed that it could be useful in the future.

Cover photo: PM Viktor Orban and French President Emmanuel Macron at the two-day summit in Brussels of the heads of states and governments of the European Union  on October 26, 2023. (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko)