Hungary’s Russia-friendly leader is in Ukraine. It’s his first visit since the war began WPXI [Video]

KYIV, Ukraine — (AP) —

During his first visit to neighboring Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday that the war was Europe’s “most important issue,” and recommended an immediate ceasefire.

Orban is widely seen as having the warmest relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin among European Union leaders, and his visit was a rare gesture in a tumultuous relationship with Ukraine as Budapest has repeatedly leaned toward Moscow.

The Hungarian prime minister has routinely blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to extend assistance to Ukraine and to sanction Moscow over its war, frustrating both Zelenskyy and other EU leaders.

But following talks in Kyiv on Tuesday, Orbán appeared to open the door to a new phase of bilateral relations, saying “the time had come” for such an official visit.

“We are trying to leave the disputes of the past behind us and focus on the period ahead,” Orbán said in brief …