Germany says Hungary's EU presidency causing 'a lot of damage'

The German Foreign Office on Friday said Hungary has caused "a lot of damage" in the 12 days since it assumed the rotating EU presidency.

A spokesman in Berlin called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's visits to Moscow and Beijing "solo Hungarian efforts that we observe with great astonishment and skepticism."

He said Orbán was acting in a personal capacity and not as a representative of the EU.

Regarding possible consequences for the visits, the spokesman said: "We have to see how Hungary's Council presidency continues. We are now on day 12 and it has already caused a lot of damage."

Deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said that Orbán could travel wherever he wanted. "What is not acceptable is that he travels through the world with the impression that he is doing so on behalf of others. And there will certainly be further discussion about how to deal with this," he added.

Ahead of the NATO summit in Washington this week, Orbán met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Both visits included discussions on potential peace proposals for Ukraine, which has been fending off a Russian invasion for more than two years.